While the UK may have changed its ‘Home’ Secretary, it still marches on insanely towards the year 1984. Evil now comes in the form of Alan Johnson, who will be automatically registering all new passports onto the controversial ‘national identity card database’ that he is trying to introduce through the back door:
‘Johnson said he had halted plans to introduce compulsory identity cards for airline pilots and 30,000 other “critical workers” at Manchester and London City airports this autumn in the face of threats of legal action. Longer term plans to extend compulsory ID cards to other transport industries, such as the railways, as a condition of employment have also been scrapped. But two batches of draft regulations to be approved by MPs tomorrow and next week are expected to include powers to make the passport a “designated document” under the national identity card scheme. This means that anyone applying for or renewing their passport from 2011 will have their details automatically added to the national identity databases. The regulations also include powers to levy a fine of up to £1,000 on those who fail to tell the authorities of a change of address or amend other key personal details such as a change of name within three months.’ – Guardian 30 June 2009.
So it’s also an opportunity to rip off the public financially. A Big Brother profit scheme, nice.
