It’s been covered by other sources already (BBC, ComputerWeekly) but for future ease of ref for me & anyone else reading this blog, here are the pics and some relevant links:
- Home Office press release 30 July 2009 quoting Alan Johnson – and with more info on the Identity Commissioner, delivery timetable etc:
"Given the growing problem of identity fraud and the inconvenience of having to carry passports, coupled with gas bills or six months worth of bank statements to prove identity, I believe the ID card will be welcomed as an important addition to the many plastic cards that most people already carry."
Yes, that’ll be a relief. Having to carry my passport and those 6 months' of bank statements round with me really is such a chore.
But seriously, I’d rather send a bank my gas bill in the post, than an identity card.
- Home Office short “FAQs”
- DirectGov’s page on Identity Cards - which seems mostly to be about trying to sell people on the benefits of ID cards. Presumably there’ll be a rush of people wanting to register their interest in ID cards and the National Identity Service (not). Via https for that form, no less.
- Identity & Passport Service’s Privacy Statement (requires Javascript to be enabled, contents links don’t work in Firefox, Opera or Chrome) and who gets your personal info if you register your interest (though not necessarily the info stored on the ultimate national identity register):
- electronics group Thales
- brand & media consultancy Rufus Leonard.
The biometric identity cards will store:
- photograph
- name
- date of birth
- signature
- gender
- place of birth
- nationality, and
- issue and expiry dates
- “a secure electronic chip that will store your facial image and two fingerprint images” (secure? maybe not…).
Front: 
Back: 
Huh? That looks suspiciously like my driving licence. But with added biometrics, of course.
I'm curious about "This area is reserved for observations". What sort of observations, exactly, apart from noting if you’re a peer of the realm?:
- "Don't trust this person, a known terrorist"?
- "Seen in some drunken photos on Facebook 5 years ago"?
I don't mind carrying a plastic card around with me; what I’m concerned about are the RFID chip and its security, and also the security of the database and who will be able to get access to my linked-up personal data, given the government's abysmal record of protecting citizens' data and preventing data breaches or data losses.
See also:
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