Database Britain (part xx)

The totalitarian instincts of this most vile Labour government seem to know no bounds. The latest revelation is that:

"Personal data gathered for the controversial ID cards scheme will be made available to the taxman.

HM Revenue and Customs officials will be able to trawl through a person's financial transactions for hints of any undeclared earnings or bank accounts.

...

The powers that give 'Commissioners for Revenue and Customs' access to the ID cards audit log were buried away in orders laid before Parliament earlier this week - at the same time as the full extent of the expenses scandal was emerging.

The log records each time a card has been used to verify a person's identity when they make a big value purchase, open a bank account or take out a mortgage.

If a large number of verifications for big items are recorded, it could signal to the taxman a person earns more money than they declared. Undeclared second homes could also lead to higher tax payments. "

As usual it is No2ID that cut to the heart of the matter:

"Phil Booth, of the NO2ID campaign, said: 'The big lie of the ID scheme is that it's for our benefit - the detail shows it's all about giving the bureaucrats and bean-counters more control.' "

Jackboot Jacqui?

The BBC report that:

"Supermarkets could be asked to take people's fingerprints as part of the government's identity card scheme.

The Home Office is talking to retailers and the Post Office about setting up booths to gather biometric data.

It comes as Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced ID cards would be issued to airside workers at Manchester and London City airport from late 2009."

What the BBC don't report is what Guido Fawkes is reporting, that:

"Jacqui Smith gave a speech today at midday on ID cards to an audience invited by the Social Market Foundation, at the end of the event the glass she was drinking from during the Q & A was whisked away* by a NO2ID sympathiser... the glass is now undergoing a technical process at an undisclosed location. This will not only identify Big Jacqui's fingerprints, it will allow them to create a plastic foil stamp that will enable anyone to leave her fingerprints behind."

Don't worry jacqui - as you and your associates keep telling us - "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear".