The UK government'snational identity card schemeappears
to be in further chaos, after a leaked document shows the
government is considering dropping the planned national fingerprint
database tied to the cards.
The leaked document,
obtained by The Observer newspaper, indicates that the Home
Office is considering dropping the national register of
fingerprints - a key tenet of
the ID card scheme.
The government has already dropped plans for a national iris
scan database for the scheme, so critics of the project will ask
what is the unique selling point of the scheme when it comes to
tighter ID card technology.
The confidential document produced by the Home Office Identity
and Passport Service, which was obtained by The Observer, states,
"We should test for each group we enrol whether the cost of
fingerprints is justified by the use to which they will be
put."