It will be interesting to read the two independent reports on the ID cards scheme that the government have now been forced to publish. Despite its best efforts, our leaders have failed to suppress the reports, and so within 28 days both reports will be available.
On Friday the Information Tribunal ruled: "First, there is an undoubted debate as to the merits of the scheme, second, there are the practicalities involved and third, there is the history as to the decision-making which underlies the scheme and which continues even today."
Access to these reports has been a long time coming. It was as long ago as January 2005 when Mark Dziecielewski of NO2ID made an FOI request to see them. The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) was ordered to publish the documents back in 2006 but following an appeal it has taken until now to get the reports in the public domain.
With Labour down in the poles and the opposition firmly against the scheme, it is time that the government puts the whole of this nonsense on hold. ID cards, the databases and the wanton sharing of our personal information with anyone with a badge needs to stop now and for good.
