The government’s plans for compulsory biometric ID cards
raise serious questions about human rights and the privacy of
individuals, said an all party group of MPs and peers.
The joint parliamentary committee on human rights warned that
the government’s plans to keep an audit trail of individuals use of
ID cards on a central population register as a potentially highly
intrusive into privacy.
The register would record details of individuals previous
addresses, travel abroad, and records of when personal information
has been accessed by other agencies, providing a detailed picture
of people’s private life, the group said.
The committee has criticised ministers for claiming that the ID
card legislation is compatible with human rights conventions
without giving any supporting evidence to back the claim.
The Home Office plans to issue a formal response to the
report.
