Guy Aitchison (London, OK): That's the great put-down coined today by Chris Huhne to describe Labour's revolting ID card scheme which is being rolled out on a compulsory basis in November for non-EU students and marriage visa holders. I have a feeling it may prove prophetic.
The first cards were unveiled by Jacqui Smith today. You can take a look at them on the BBC website. They are pink and blue and credit card-sized and feature, amongst other things, a photo, a "biometric chip" and remarks on work restrictions and benefit entitlements. In time these details, and a whole mountain of other personal data, will be stored on a huge central database accessible by several hundred thousand officials.
The initial introduction of the cards for foreign nationals is part of, what Phil Booth from the excellent No2ID calls, a "softening up exercise". Having been forced on the most vulerable members in society, from next year the cards will be compulsory for people in the airline industry and, after that, they will be offered to young people under 16 followed by the entire population.
As Booth puts it, the plan is to "salami slice the population to get this scheme going in any way they can...Once they get some people to take the card it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."
But plans to make the cards compulsory for airline workers have already suffered a welcome setback. Earlier this month the TUC voted against the scheme and, according to the FT, talks this summer between Home Office officials, employers and the unions stalled, with one union in the airline industry threatening to take legal action on human rights and employment grounds if the Government goes ahead with the plans.
There is every sign that the scheme will also prove to be a massive constitutional headache for the Government. The cards will carry the royal crest and the four flowers, which is supposed to represent the four nations of the UK, but already the nations are rejecting them. In Scotland the SNP are resolutely opposed to the scheme with their Home Affairs spokesman, Pete Wishart MP, labelling the whole thing "absurd". The database state will doubtless become a focus for disputes between Westminster and Holyrood over the scope of reserved and devolved powers.
Presenting the cards today, Jacqui Smith claimed they would "make our borders more secure" and "prevent human trafficking, organised immigration crime, illegal working and benefit fraud" by "locking people to one identity."
Putting aside all the issues of cost, privacy and the Government's proven incompetence in handling personal data, the fact remains: people who actually know about the technology and have experience in dealing with large complex systems say that ID cards cannot and will not achieve these aims. (See No2ID for why).
