The Curmudgeon

YOU'LL COME FOR THE CURSES. YOU'LL STAY FOR THE MUDGEONRY.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Subtle

The announcement by the Secretary of Fitness for Purpose that the ID card scheme will be tested on social undesirables is apparently the good news which is meant to drown out the publication of a report commissioned two years ago by the Treasury. The report concerns "the economic and social benefits of 'effective ID assurance systems and infrastructure'", rather than the economic and social benefits of the systems and infrastructure which the Government actually plans to introduce; but it might still have caused a bit of embarrassment had New New Labour retained any capacity for so civilised an affliction.

The report criticises the Government's identity card scheme on the grounds that it is "uncoordinated". This is a euphemism. According to the report, a national identity card scheme should "not be promoted as an anti-crime initiative". The Government's identity card scheme has been promoted as anti-terrorism, anti-illegal-immigration and, most amusingly of all, anti-ID theft. According to the report, a national identity card scheme should "involve minimum amounts of information". The Government's identity card scheme requires fifty categories of information, so far. According to the report, a national identity card scheme should be "free to users". The Government's identity card scheme requires that those who are forced to carry the card should pay for the privilege of being compelled.

The report was commissioned by the Glorious Successor, in between writing about courage and sulking about the neighbours. "The Treasury published the review today with minimum publicity, and its release coincided with the home secretary Jacqui Smith's high-profile announcement of further details of the programme's implementation," notes the Guardian's senior political correspondent; which shows that the hidden agenda behind a press release is occasionally so subtle that it can be observed even by a journalist.

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