Plan to stop ID card leaks is ... leaked

My mailbox has been blitzed over the weekend with the controversy over the IWF's filtering of an image from a 1976 album cover on Wikipedia. It's generated a lot of heat and not a lot of light on a variety lists, blogs and the mainstream media. On another matter, I'd recommend this story from yesterday's Sunday Times:

"JACQUI SMITH, the home secretary, has suffered fresh embarrassment from a new Whitehall leak disclosing that ministers are seeking new powers to search the homes of staff working on ID cards.

An 11-page confidential Home Office document – which was sent to a campaigner against ID cards – suggests that the employees’ homes could be entered without the need for a police warrant."

The non disclosure agreement that this report refers to is available at wikileaks. The relevant paragraph from the agreement is on page 8:

"5. Audit Rights

In the event of the Company or any of its Corporate or Individual Recipients fails to comply with the requirements under this Agreement or at the sole discretion of the Authority, the Company and each of its Individual Recipients shall permit the Authority and such personnel or agents as the Authority shall at its sole discretion determine and notify in writing in advance to the Company, to gain entry and access to the premises and any and all records, computers and other property of the Company and such Individual Recipients containing or including any NIS Information, for the purposes of ensuring that the NIS Information and all associated Copies are secure in accordance with the terms of this Agreement or have been destroyed permanently or removed from their possession."

From paragraph 1 of the agreement an "Individual Recipient" is defined as "any individual who may have access to NIS Information who is a director, employee or member of seconded staff of and/or under the control of the Group" (the 'Group' being 'the Company and all of its wholly owned subsidiaries from time to time')

Update: Lilian has her usual balanced and sensible analysis of the heat and wind surrounding the IWF censorship of the album cover on Wikipedia.

Update 2: Cory has weighed in also suggesting transparency.