Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: ID cards, Inflation and Women Protesters
ID cards
Asked if the Prime Minister was planning to vote on the ID Cards Bill later today, the PMOS replied that the Prime Minister would make that decision himself at the time.
Put to the PMOS that the technology did not work, people seemed to be swinging against ID cards, costs were an issue, civil liberty arguments were being raised, and that people had admitted they would not have stopped the London bombings, what was left and how were they being justified, the PMOS replied that if he went through the sweeping generalisation contained in each of the questions, he would be there for the rest of the day! Instead, he said he would address the positives, rather than the negatives. The PMOS said that ID cards would help disrupt the use of false and multiple identities by organised criminals and those involved in terrorist activities, they would help to tackle illegal working and immigration abuse, whilst also enabling easier, more convenient access to services, and ensured that free public services were only available to those entitled to them. ID cards would also help protect people from identity fraud and theft, and they ensured that British citizens were able to continue to travel freely as international requirements for secure biometric identity documents developed. The PMOS also said that the technology was developing all the time, and where we were today was not where we were going to be at the point where ID cards came into being. We were looking at how other departments could use ID cards to help in their work, so there was an expanding market for their use.
Put to the PMOS that terrorism was not on the list, the PMOS replied that it was, as identity cards would help disrupt the use of false and multiple identities by organised criminals and those involved in terrorist activities, as he had said.
Asked who on the access to services argument was going to question the fact that someone might not have an ID card, and therefore was not eligible to be treated, the PMOS said it depended on how departments used the cards, and those discussions would continue. What was important was that departments were able to insist on a high level of identity proof, for instance in the NHS.
Asked if that meant doctors, the PMOS said people should wait to see how departments thought through the process.
Asked if the Government was therefore asking people to vote on technology that did not exist, the PMOS replied that the technology was in development, and that was the important thing to remember. What people should not do was base decisions on past technology, because technology developed very quickly.
Asked if it was the case that one of the extra safeguards that Charles Clarke was going to announce today was people would be able to look at their own entry on the ID database to see who else had accessed their identity, the PMOS said he was not aware of that particular safeguard, but the amendments were being put down today. The PMOS explained that anyone involved in manufacturing the card must keep the information confidential and breaking that would be punishable by up to two years in jail. The second amendment said that no numbers could be included on the database if their existence led to the disclosure of sensitive information, for example, the presence of a medical condition.
Inflation
Put to the PMOS that inflation had risen today due to the rising price of oil, and was No10 worried that the economy would suffer as a result, the PMOS said that we believed that the fundamentals of the economy were strong, as the records showed. He recommended that the journalist spoke to the Treasury for more information.
Women Protesters
Asked if the Prime Minister would be meeting the women protesters whose sons had been killed in Iraq, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that whilst all people who delivered a petition were free to do so, it was very unusual for the Prime Minister to meet them.
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