Purpletigron

To: [local]@new.labour.org.uk

Greetings,

I live in XXX constituency. I would like to ask Labour Party candidates in the XXX region about their position on the proposed national ID card and database scheme.

The Labour Government is keen to tell us of the many ways in which they hope such an ID scheme would work. However, any honest security professional will tell you that the key question is: How is it likely to fail?

I urge you to reconsider the issues carefully. A useful source is the book, "Beyond Fear: Thinking sensibly about security in an uncertain world" by leading USA security expert, Bruce Schneier (2003 pub. Copernicus, Springer-Verlag New York ISBN 0-387-02620-7 e.g on Amazon, including excerpts). Schneier particularly addresses national ID systems on p193, and p204-5 (in Chap 13 Identification, Authenticaion and Authorization). I quote:

"In practice, ID cards fail in all sorts of ways. ... The biggest risk of a national ID system is the database. ... Large databases of information always have errors and outdated information. ...

"Given these failure modes, how well to IDs solve the problem [crime, terror]? Not well. They're prone to errors and misuse, and worse yet, they are likely to be blindly trusted even when they are wrong. ...

"What other security problems does the security solution [national ID] _cause_? ... the biggest is identity theft.

" ... ID cards don't solve the problem of identification nearly as well as proponents claim they do ... given that they're enormously expensive in terms of both money and personal freedom, this is not a solution we [the USA] should pursue."

I believe that the ID scheme will become Labour's 'Poll Tax'. Thousands of people have already publicly stated that they will refuse to carry an ID card.

I will never vote for any candidate who supports a national ID card and database scheme.

Yours,

PurpleTigron Esq.

This has been a very mixed week, personally, and politically.

Tony Blair seems to have found 'his Poll Tax' with the ID card/database issue. ( Lobby a Lord )

fjm is courageously exploring the implications of UK legislation concerning the so-called 'glorification of terrorism'.

The world seems no nearer to real freedom of speech.

Hospitals and ill health seem to surround me.

But G, D & I, and B&P, have managed to have some good times...

( Cat stuff )

There will be a mass lobby of parliament against ID cards today between 12 and 1 (see http://www.no2id.net)

Anyone interested in coming, make sure you know your MPs name and meet at the sundial in Old Palace Yard. This can be found at the letter H on the map here:

http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/faxmap.pdf

Anyone working in London, an ideal lunch break :-)