Thursday, July 14, 2005

UK push for EU wide ID cards

"The UK is using its Presidency of the Council of the European Union to push for the adoption of biometric ID cards and associated standards across the whole of the EU." So says John Lettice.

Statewatch have the documental proof.

As an Irishman I'm interested in the notion that I'll constitute a hole in Mr Clarke's new ID system:

"In addition to the pan-European push, the UK Government is putting pressure on Ireland over identity cards. Irish Justice minister Michael McDowell has gone on the record as opposing ID cards, saying that "I don't want to go down that road if I can avoid doing so", but this week he conceded that if the UK ID scheme goes ahead Ireland may have little choice. This latest 'Irish question' figures regularly in the UK Parliament's ID card debates because Irish citizens may currently travel and live within the UK without controls. If the arrangements don't change and UK citizens have compulsory ID cards, Irish citizens would therefore constitute a giant hole in the scheme."

I've been described as many things but ttbomk never before as a hole.

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