NO2ID News No. 43
13 April 2006
NO2ID Supporters' Newsletter No. 43 - 13th April 2006
NO2ID Local groups hit 100 but we still need more
We are pleased to announce that over one hundred NO2ID local groups
have now been set-up around the country. Local groups are the key to
getting the facts about ID cards and the National Identity Register to
people at a grass roots level. Our groups have been holding public
meetings, encouraging local councils to pass anti-ID motions, setting
up street stalls, handing out leaflets and collecting signatures from
Inverness to Torquay. What is more local groups were instrumental in
delaying the ID bill as it moved through parliament, particularly the
extraordinary five rejections by the House of Lords. Well done to all
involved.
But we still need more groups particularly in
Northern Ireland, South Wales, the Midlands and Lancashire. If you
don't have a local group near you why not set one up. If there is one
then get involved. More information about local groups can be found at
(
www.no2id.net/localGroups/index.php).
Since our last newsletter many of our supporters have been lobbying
election candidates for the upcoming local elections on 4th May. Our
Doncaster group have even managed to get our web address on Liberal
Democrat candidates' leaflets. If you
haven't contacted your local candidates yet please do. Ask them their
position on ID cards and make it clear to them that you will never vote
for a supporter of compulsory registration or ID cards. ID cards are a
local issue, the astronomical costs of implementing the scheme will be
passed to councils who will be forced to increase council tax.
You can also find some local election resources (such as fliers and
poster designs) on the NO2ID submissions forum (
http://forum.no2id.net/viewforum.php?f=43
- you will need to register
to access this forum).
And finally, next Tuesday (18th April) we'll be launching a new action
at our volunteers meeting in London but don't worry if your not in
London, we will be notifying our supporters across the UK after the
meeting.
What's next?
Youth against ID
Could anyone who responded to the plea for young NO2ID supporters to
get in touch, please do so again. Unfortunately thanks to a technical
hitch your details didn't get through. Anyone else who'd like to get
involved, the doors are still open to you (as long as you're under say,
26). Send an email to
guyt@no2id.net
or call 07956 681 328. A small group of young activists got together
last week and we're wanting to organise a larger but informal
get-together to discuss a few ideas and potential strategies. Anyone
else who's not getting this newsletter would be welcome along as well.
Pennine Way sponsored walk continues
One of our supporters has kindly agreed to donate sponsorship income
from his walk to
the NO2ID campaign. You can follow Bob's progress and make a donation
here:
http://www.no2id.net/walkfree.php
New local groups
We have new local groups in Farnham, Morden, Kingston-Upon-Thames,
Bath, and Doncaster. To get involved with your local group drop and
email to the group co-ordinator, a list of groups can be found at
www.no2id.net/localGroups
15th April Bristol No2ID stall & leafleting
Saturday 15th April, afternoon
by fountains
near waterfront. For more details contact Dave Gould at
bristol@no2id.net, or phone 07989
693646.
18th April NO2ID Glasgow meeting
Tuesday 18th April, 7.30pm at Mono, Kings Court, off King Street near
the Trongate.
Now that the Identity Cards Bill has become the Identity Cards Act
2006, we need to gather ideas on how to move forward as a campaign and
to build a movement which will be able to resist the introduction of
compulsory ID cards and registration on the National Identity Register
in 2010. Everyone is very welcome to attend. Please bring your thinking
caps. For more details contact
glasgow@n2id.net or visit
http://www.no2id-scotland.net/glasgow/
18th April - NO2ID London Volunteers Meeting, Central London - Note
new venue
Tuesday, 18th April 7.00pm at Brockway Room in Conway Hall - which is
in the north easterly corner of Red Lion Square, Holborn WC1 (nearest
tube: Holborn). All are welcome to NO2ID's next volunteers' meetings.
The meeting will have a legal theme - Liz Norman, an immigration lawyer
and member of NO2ID staff, will speak and we have invited along a
number of other legal friends of the campaign. The meeting is free to
attend but we will be asking for
donations to help cover the cost of the room hire.
20th April NO2ID Swindon Meeting
Thursday, 20th April 7.30pm at the
Clifton Inn, Clifton Street (off Kingshill in Swindon)
. This will be the Swindon group's last meeting in
April. Please come to collect your election packs. All welcome. for
more details contact Lynda at swindon@no2id.net
21st April NO2ID Morden Planning Meeting
Friday, 21st April 7.00pm at the Princess of Wales pub, Morden Road (on
the 93 bus route and 5 minutes from Croydon Tramlink Morden Road stop).
The newly formed Morden group will holding their first planning
meeting. For more information contact Mark Austin at
morden@no2id.net
26th April "Identity Cards: The Debate" - British Computer Society,
Northampton Branch
Wednesday, 26th April 7.30pm at University of Northampton (Park
Campus), Boughton Green Rd. The BCS will be holding "what should be a
lively and informative session led by students from
the University of Northampton". Refreshments provided. Both BCS members
and
non-members are welcome.
See
http://northampton.bcs.org/events/2006/260406.asp
for more details
5th May - The ID card debate - seminar
Friday, 5th May from 7pm to 9pm
at 89 Bickersteth
Road, Tooting, London SW17. Organised by the
Mauritian Lawyers Society. Free admission. Contact Salina Somanah on 020 8516 7730 or 07870
773 792 for more details.
What just happened?
Web server appeal success
Many thanks to everyone who generously donated towards our new web
server appeal. The new server is now up and running and helping us to
deal with the ever expanding number of visitors.
Lewisham NO2ID Launch "Heroes and Villains" website for Local
Elections
NO2ID Lewisham have launched a website to inform voters
of candidates' opinions on compulsory ID cards and the National
Identity Register. The "Heroes and Villains" website, which can be
found at www.lewisham-no2id.org.uk,
will clearly label every candidate
standing in the local and mayoral elections on 4th May as either a hero
or a villain, depending on their response to one simple question: "Do
you support the the introduction of the National Identity Card and
National Identity Register?". This question has been sent in a
personalised letter to every candidate. Richard Grainger of Lewisham
NO2ID said "Over time it will become impossible to access Council
services without registering your fingerprints and eye scans on the
database and carrying a card. Lewisham residents should show their
displeasure at the Government's intention to nationalise their
identities. They can do this by voting for the heroic candidates who
oppose the scheme, whatever their political party". For
information contact:
lewisham@no2id.net
NO2ID Edinburgh builds up its campaign
We may have lost the vote in parliament, but the campaign is really
steaming ahead in Edinburgh. As we build up our membership we
have been able to institute a regular fortnightly stall on Saturday
afternoons at the east end of Princes Street. This is doing really
well, and in due course we shall be making this a weekly event. A
member who is a professional graphics designer has produced some
really eye-catching displays for our stall, so that now even
passengers aboard the buses and cars which whiz past along Princes
Street can be left in no doubt that Edinburgh does not want ID cards!
We also have a new gem of a website at:
http://www.no2id-scotland.net/edinburgh/
If you live in the Edinburgh area, why not contact us (
edinburgh@no2id.net) and get
involved.
New Agency - UKIPS - The UK Identity and Passport Service
On April fool's day the government established a new agency (UKIPS) to
deal with passports and identity cards as they move towards their
foolish ID card scheme. The new agency should not be confused with UK
Investment Property Services (UKIPS) or the United Kingdom Investment
Performance Standard (UKIPS) or the United Kingdom Independence
Party(UKIP). Seems like they might have a bit of an identity crisis.
See
http://www.ukips.gov.uk
Transformational Government - Implementation Plan published
The government have now released a report detailing the implementation
plan of their 'Transformational Government' strategy. The report has an
introduction from Ian Watmore, ex-head of Accenture, now 'Head of the Prime
Minister’s Delivery Unit'. The report reveals that a study is under way
by HM Revenue and Customs and the Department
for Work and Pensions "to look at
the possibility of wider use of the National Insurance Number for
indexing information held in public sector databases, whilst respecting
confidentiality". The study is expected to report by November. Also
there is another study "into the
market for biometric identity systems" which will report this month
The report can be downloaded from
www.cio.gov.uk/documents/pdf/transgov/transgovt.pdf
Going Dutch? Where's your ID?
78,917 fines have been handed out in the Netherlands over the past 15
months for failure to show ID, the research centre MDI reports.
Although various forms of ID have existed in Holland for decades,
showing them only became compulsory on 1 January 2005 - something that
the Dutch had long been assured would never happen. Adjusted for
population size, the Dutch figure is the equivalent of about 284,000
fines in the UK. Half of those fined have refused to pay and are being
taken to court. The backlog of cases is continuing to build.
Low-hanging fruit for identity thieves
A preview of the joys of having a single, widely-used National Identity
Register Number for every UK resident - courtesy of South Korea, where
everyone already has one, and they’re suffering an epidemic of identity
fraud as a result.
http://www.no2id.net/news/newsblog/?p=387
"ID" in the news
Does the ID cards scheme have a 'self-destruct' button?
A Conservative MP has asked the government to reveal whether the
planned ID card database will have a 'self-destruct' system which could
be used in case of foreign invasion.
http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39158041,00.htm
Firms to pay for ID card checks - IT Week 10/4/06
The government confirmed last week that firms will have to pay if they
want to use the national ID card system to carry out authentication
checks – though exact charges have yet to be set.
http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/news/2153744/firms-pay-id-card-checks
Database state : MPs warned of 'flaws' in NHS supercomputer - The
Times 11/4/06
Leading academics called yesterday for a formal audit of the National
Health Service’s £6.2 billion IT scheme over fears that it is behind
schedule, over budget and not secure.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2128169,00.html
Drivers use address scam to cheat speed cameras - The Observer
9/4/06
Rogue drivers are evading thousands of speeding tickets. The scam
involves offenders registering their cars at one of a network of
'mass-mailing' addresses used legitimately by businesses instead of at
their own homes. A Home Office spokesman said the national identity
register being introduced to back up planned ID cards would help.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1750138,00.html
Blair's inner circle and its ferocious grab for power - The
Guardian 6/4/06
The ID cards bill will allow the authorities unprecedented surveillance
of our lives, and the power to curtail our ordinary activities by
withdrawing that card.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1747669,00.html
France : Launch of ePassports - timetable of introduction
The French Ministry for Internal Affairs has announced the imminent
introduction of the first electronic passports in France. The new
passports will be made available to French citizens progressively,
depending on the administrative region in which they live.
http://europa.eu.int/idabc/en/document/5477/194
Switzerland to introduce first biometric passports in September
The Swiss Federal Council has adopted a regulation that will pave the
way for the trial introduction of biometric passports. New ‘Pass 06’
passports, containing electronically-stored biometric data, will be
offered as an alternative to the current ‘Pass 03’ passports in
selected regions from 4 September 2006, when the regulation comes into
force.
http://europa.eu.int/idabc/en/document/5483/194
(Please send me any items of interest you encounter -
Editor(
newsletter@no2id.net) )
What you can do
In the run up to the May local elections you can help us by:
1. Getting involved with your local group
Organise leafleting, a stall or a public meeting to educate the public
about the database that lies behind the ID card scheme.
See
http://www.no2id.net/localGroups
2. Writing to local elections candidates and your local paper
Now that the ID bill has passed into law it is essential that we keep
compulsory registration of citizens on the National Identity Register
in people's minds. The media debate is likely to mis-report the plastic
card opt-out.
* We also maintain a list of things you can do on our website at
http://www.no2id.net/getInvolved/other.php
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