NO2ID News No. 89
18 January 2008
ID INTERROGATIONS BEGIN IN EARNEST
The ID interrogation centre network has begun to creak into action,
with centres now opening their doors in dozens of locations across the
UK. To find the status of your nearest centre, please visit
http://www.no2id.net/getInvolved/idCentres.php
Interrogations are still ONLY for those applying for their first adult
passport - and we understand that not everyone applying for their first
adult passport is being called in for an official grilling. The
Identity and Passport Service (IPS) will not say exactly who it is selecting, or why.
We need to know more.
NO2ID is already receiving reports from people who have been
interrogated, but we would like to understand the process in more
detail so that we can advise people better. If you are due to apply for
your first adult passport, or if you have been called in for
'interview' please do get in touch by sending an e-mail to
passports@no2id.net
N.B. People being interrogated at present ARE NOT being issued with ID
cards, nor are their details being entered onto the ID database (the
'National Identity Register' or 'NIR'). The contracts to build the
database
haven't even been issued yet. Even were IPS to retain the information
it is now gathering, it would not be sufficient to form a complete NIR
record - e.g. no fingerprints are being taken.
If you haven't already, it *is* still safe to 'Renew for Freedom' if
your passport has just a few years to run - see
http://www.RenewForFreedom.org
STOP PRESS - REQUEST
Have you been personally affected by the recent government data
breaches - HMRC Child Benefit, DVLA theory test details, NHS records,
DWP benefits or pension data?
Have you also, or as a result, signed the NO2ID Pledge?
We want to hear your story.
If you or a member of your family have been affected by government
mishandling of personal data, and you feel strongly enough about it
that you will now refuse to comply with the National Identity Scheme
('ID cards') and have made the NO2ID Pledge, please send an e-mail to
NO2ID's press office -
press@no2id.net - and let us know.
Please ONLY get in touch if you would be happy to have your story
reported, e.g. in the newspapers or on our website. We can offer no
guarantee that anyone's particular story will be published.
What's next?
Local groups news
We have local groups all over the country and in 36 of the 69 locations
of ID
interrogation centres (see
www.no2id.net/getInvolved/idCentres.php).
If
you can help to set up a local group in one of the remaining towns then
please contact us at (
office@no2id.net). A full list of
local groups
can be found at
www.no2id.net/localGroups
Data sharing consultation - (closes 15th February)
A consultation on data sharing has been launched by the Ministry of
Justice. The consultation document is at (
www.justice.gov.uk/publications/data-sharing-review-consultation.htm).
Please also send NO2ID details (with evidence) of occasions where
public authorities or others are demanding more information than
necessary for the purpose. Our address is NO2ID, Box 412, 19-21
Crawford Street, London W1H 1PJ or send by e-mail to
(
office@no2id.net).
The consultation ends on 15th February.
There is also a discussion of how to go about submitting evidence for
the consultation at
http://forum.no2id.net/viewtopic.php?t=20073
Bradford
19th January - Bradford NO2ID meeting
Saturday, 19th January at The Old Dolphin, Highgate Rd, Clayton
Heights, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD13 1DR. Contact Jason Smith at
bradford@no2id.net
for more
details.
Cambridge
26th January - NO2ID Cambridge Stall
Saturday, 26th January 10am - Cambridge NO2ID's next street stall will
be in the usual spot outside Cambridge Guildhall. Location Map:
http://tinyurl.com/eo42r.
As ever, volunteers to help very welcome -
please email
cambridge@no2id.net, or
text/call Andrew on 07710 469624
if you can make it.
6th February - Cambridge NO2ID pub meeting (1st Wednesday of each
month)
Wednesday, 6th February 7.30pm at the Salisbury Arms, 76 Tenison Rd,
Cambridge CB1 2DW. Map: (
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=cb1+2dw).
For
more details contact
cambridge@no2id.net, or
text/call Andrew on 07710
469624.
Canterbury
6th February - Canterbury NO2ID Meeting (1st Wednesday of each month)
Wednesday, 16th February 7.30pm at Coffee and Corks, Palace Street,
Canterbury. Email
canterbury@no2id.net for more
info.
Edinburgh
Previous newsletter link correction
In newsletter 88 the link at the end of the item 'Scottish Parliament
gives resounding thumbs down to ID cards' should have been
http://www.jwelford.demon.co.uk/snecnews.html
Saturdays 1pm - 3pm - NO2ID Edinburgh street stall
Every week, weather permitting, you will find our campaigning stall at
the east end of Princes Street, opposite the Balmoral Hotel. Do drop
by for a chat. New volunteers - please contact
John(
edinburgh@no2id.net), and for
more group information see
http://www.no2id-scotland.net/edinburgh/
30th January - Edinburgh NO2ID Meeting - Green Party MSP to speak to
Edinburgh Group
Wednesday, 30th January 7.00pm in The Library, Quaker Meeting House, 7
Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2JL. The Edinburgh NO2ID group will
welcome Patrick Harvie, Green Party MSP and Scotland's principal
political opponent of identity cards, to its meeting on Wednesday 30
January. All are welcome at the meeting. Further details, including
posters to download, may be found at
http://forum.no2id.net/viewtopic.php?t=20496.
Glasgow
Most Saturdays 2pm - NO2ID Glasgow Street Stall
Most Saturdays there are stalls in Glasgow city centre (usually
Buchanan Street) from about 2pm. Volunteers are always welcome, please
contact Geraint if you would like to help:
glasgow@no2id.net.
Leicester
31st January - Pledge signing event
Thursday, 31st January from 7pm at the Blues pub in Oadby. Instead of
the usual Wednesday meeting we will be signing the NO2ID pledge to
refuse to register for the national ID card. Everybody welcome as we'll
be including this event in a press release and we would like a good
turnout!
Newcastle/Gateshead
20th February - Taking Liberties showing
Wednesday, 20th February 7.30pm at the Star and Shadow Cinema. The
acclaimed film Taking Liberties, featuring NO2ID, will be shown.
Oxford
Oxford's Interrogation centre will be opening this month and we're
planning to have an event to mark it, and to raise people's awareness
that they might be called in for an intrusive interview. We don't yet
know the exact date of the event as we don't yet know the exact date
the
interrogation centre will be opening. We're thinking at this point in
time of holding a "BBQ for the Grilling Centre". We will of course keep
everyone posted.
Southampton
At our January meeting we decided to work towards the local elections
in May and to this end will be writing to all councillors and
candidates to discover their position on ID cards and the Database
State over the next eight weeks. We are also looking to build towards a
press event shortly before the local elections to raise awareness of
the issues locally. We are also working to set up a NO2ID group at the
University of Southampton, so that our student activists can operate
freely on campus. Finally, we want to organise a 'visit' to a local
interrogation centre. If members from Portsmouth or Bournemouth could
get in touch that would be very welcome so we can work together on this.
6th February - Southampton NO2ID Meeting (1st Wednesday of each
month)
Wednesday, 6th February 8.00pm at the Dolphin pub in St Denys,
Southampton. We hold irregular stalls in Southampton and environs.
Please contact
Southampton.no2id@gmail.com if you would like to take
part, or come to the next meeting.
Thanet
25th January Thanet NO2ID Meeting
Friday, 25th January 7pm at Pascucci Cafe,14 Buenos Ayres Rd, Margate.
The café owner agreed to open especially in the evening for our
meeting. The café is right opposite Margate railway station, and next
to a pub which will be the backup venue. Contact
thanet@no2id.net
for
more details.
Worcester
6th February - Worcester NO2ID pub meeting (No meeting in January)
Wednesday, 6 February 2000 at The Portobello, Bransford Road, St
John's, Worcester
(
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=383268&Y=253763&A=Y&Z=1).
Our regular, meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month.
This month: Roles, Recruitment and the Rest of Worcestershire. Contact
Worcester@no2id.net
or 01905 735986
Worthing
January 26th - Worthing NO2ID Street Stall
Saturday, 26th January 11am at Montague Place, Worthing. Contact
worthing@no2id.net
for more information.
What just happened?
Welsh Assembly renews anti-ID stance
Yesterday (16th January) Welsh Assembly members voted to renew their
opposition to ID cards. The motion called on the Assembly to "direct
the Government not to allow ID cards to be used as a requirement for
access to public services in Wales which are within the remit of the
Assembly". The motion was passed unanimously. Labour members voted for
the motion - interestingly when the motion was originally passed in
2005 they abstained. No Labour members defended the government's
ID-scheme during the debate.
Details of the debate can be found at
http://www.assemblywales.org/
Taking Liberties gets BAFTA nomination
The British civil liberties documentary 'Taking Liberties' has been
nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) award.
The film is up for the 'Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a
British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film'. The
British Academy Film Awards will be held on Sunday 10th February.
See
http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/film-awards-nominees-in-2008,224,BA.html
Medical data – store it yourself?
News of the NHS data losses has travelled far and fast. One of the
doctors’ federations in Germany says the British disaster should prompt
second thoughts about German plans for electronic health cards linked
to a centralised database. The doctors suggest that each patient’s data
could be kept on a USB card or USB stick, which would remain in the
person’s possession. But the German government looks set to press ahead
with the database.
Deja vu - Kiddyprinting and data leaks - same story, different
country
Just like here in the UK where thousands of children have been
fingerprinted at school, children at Espiritu community schools in
Phoenix, USA have been fingerprinted without their parent's permission
(see
http://tinyurl.com/3c5xfx
- includes an abc15 news video).
Manufacturers of the equipment and the schools collecting the
biometrics are using the stock answer that it's okay because the
fingerprints are stored as a numeric code. Little mention is made of
the fact that such practices teach children that it's okay for
authorities to take this information and to accept that there is no
privacy. Two states in the USA outlaw the fingerprinting of children:
Michigan and Iowa. Meanwhile Sweden has had a mini Revenue and Customs
style data breach after an employee of the armed forces misplaced a USB
memory stick which contained both unclassified and classified
information such as information regarding mine threats in
Afghanistan (see
http://tinyurl.com/2agvrd).
New leaked data fiasco
Patients with serious illnesses such as cancer are having their
personal details passed to medical researchers.
See
http://www.no2id.net/news/newsblog/?p=754
"ID" in the news
FBI wants instant access to British identity data - The Guardian
15/1/08
Senior British police officials are talking to the FBI about an
international database to hunt for major criminals and terrorists. The
US-initiated programme, "Server in the Sky", would take cooperation
between the police forces way beyond the current faxing of fingerprints
across the Atlantic. Allies in the "war against terror" - the US, UK,
Australia, Canada and New Zealand - have formed a working group, the
International Information Consortium, to plan their strategy.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/humanrights/story/0,,2241005,00.html
Biometric ID card to be issued to foreign nationals within a year,
Home Office says - ComputerWeekly 14/1/08
Foreign nationals who wish to stay in the UK will be issued with a
compulsory biometric ID card within a year, the home office minister,
Liam Byrne, said today. The scheme is one of 10 measures announced
today that aims to tighten control of the presence and movement of
foreigners in the UK.
http://tinyurl.com/28hmc6
All visa applicants to be fingerprinted from today - The Guardian
14/1/08
All visitors to Britain requiring visas will have to be fingerprinted
from today. The immigration minister, Liam Byrne, said a programme for
installing biometric visa controls has been completed three months
ahead of schedule.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,2240642,00.html
Prisoners 'to be chipped like dogs' - Independent on Sunday 13/1/08
Ministers are planning to implant "machine-readable" microchips under
the skin of thousands of offenders as part of an expansion of the
electronic tagging scheme that would create more space in British jails.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article3333852.ece
Generation ID: lessons in kiddyprinting - red pepper 13/1/08
Jim Knight, the minister for schools and learning, also said this
summer that the police could help themselves to the children’s
fingerprints if they are trying to solve a crime – regardless of
whether they have ever previously been in trouble with the law.
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/article921.html
I'm one of 'them' - The Guardian 13/1/08
If Gordon Brown has his way I'll soon be forced to choose between my
husband and my liberty. As a Canadian resident in the UK, beginning
this year I'm required to carry an ID card under the Labour
government's national identity cards scheme. As Brown put it in last
week's prime minister's questions: "I suggest the whole of the country
supports ID cards for foreign nationals."
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/juliana_farha/2008/01/im_one_of_them.html
PM re-commits to ID cards - Computing 9/1/08
The Prime Minister is insisting the ID card plan will "move ahead"
despite Tory protests following the scandals involving lost personal
data by his government. Speaking at his first Prime Minister's
Questions session of 2008, Gordon Brown said a parliamentary vote
on making the card compulsory would take place after the voluntary
system has been put in place, depending on the success of the initial
scheme.
http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2206844/pm-commits-id-cards
Inquiry into police dna use - Daily Express 9/1/08
Ministers are funding a major inquiry into the operation of the police
DNA database, it has been announced. Official government advisers the
Human Genetics Commission will oversee a so-called "citizen's inquiry"
into the way DNA records are archived to fight crime.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/30865/Inquiry-into-police-DNA-use
(Please send me any items of interest you encounter - Editor (
newsletter@no2id.net)
)
Publication details: © NO2ID 2010 - This document may be freely redistributed
in one-to-one communications or physical copies as long as it is reproduced
in its entirety including this notice. It may not be mass-mailed without
the prior permission of NO2ID.
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