6 March 2008
Responding to the Home Secretary's interview on this morning's Today programme about the 'next steps' for the National Identity Scheme, NO2ID
pointed out that her announcements merely confirm the documents leaked by the campaign five weeks ago [1].
Phil Booth, NO2ID's National Coordinator said:
"This is a marketing exercise. NO2ID called it that when we leaked the Home Office strategy five weeks ago, and it's clearly nothing more than a
marketing exercise now.
"Whether you volunteer or are coerced onto the ID database, there's no way back. You'll be monitored for life. That's why the government is targeting
students and young people, to get them on before they realise what's happening.
"Gordon Brown's not in control, so who is? He had no clue about the strategy that senior officials and the Home Office were deciding in December when he
said in January [2] that no British nationals would be compelled to have a card. What about the 200,000 airline workers - or don't they count?"
-ENDS-
Notes for editors
1) See http://wikileaks.cx/leak/nis
2) In an interview with the Observer on 6th January, Gordon Brown said:
Observer: So it would be that British citizens and non-British citizens would need them.
Gordon Brown: Yes, but under our proposals there is no compulsion for existing British citizens."
http://www.guardian.co.uk
3) NO2ID is the UK-wide non-partisan campaign against ID cards and the database state. See http://www.no2id.net/dbstate
state' initiatives that NO2ID is actively opposing.
For more information, or for immediate or future interview, please contact:
Phil Booth (National Coordinator, national.coordinator@no2id.net) on 07974 230 839;
Guy Herbert (General Secretary, general.secretary@no2id.net) on 07956 544 308; or
Michael Parker (Press Officer, press.officer@no2id.net) on 07773 376 166.
The NO2ID Campaign
Box 412
19-21 Crawford Street
London W1H 1PJ
enquiries@no2id.net
Tel: 07005 800 651
Press: click here
