That’s not a “no”
A written parliamentary question from Norman Baker to ID Card myrmidon, Andy Burnham:
Norman Baker (Lewes, Liberal Democrat): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has ruled out use of DNA material as part of his proposed identity card scheme.
Andy Burnham (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office): There are no powers in the Identity Cards Act 2006 to require an applicant for an ID card to provide a DNA sample.
Update: I meant “that’s not a yes”, obviously.
Posted on April 21st, 2006 at 5:10 pm
| See also • PIN: The tail on the donkey • • The Register: Not delayed, not sleeping, dead - UK ID card scheme goes under |
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If you want to get upset about ID cards / DNA simply Google “spit kits” … in use for over 2 years to provide Tube staff, traffic wardens , NCP ,in store security, car park attendants, Police, bar staff etc., with ability to identify people from spit. There have been successful prosecutions as a result.You DNA (identified by records fo car ownership from DVL can already be on the NCIS DNA Database without you knowing.
Iowa University Health Lab. are pioneers in being able to collect and identify DNA from Human waste (ugh!) they also do an orful lot of work for the DOD re bio-warfare etc .,
Edward Teague, how do you mean your DNA can be recorded via the DVL? Do you mean, via the DVLA if you have spit at a traffic warden etc.?
Mr Burnham’s minions in the other place amended the ID Bill to limit registrable facts to “external characteristics”. Might still cover puddles of gob, I suppose, but the intent was to rule DNA out. Of the CURRENT crap-pile, that is. See: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid=2006-01-30b.31.0
I have to say that as a cheerleader for good manners, if you’re the kind of person inclined to spit at traffic wardens, policemen and bar staff, you probably deserve all you get. Your DNA on the system? You should be thankful you’re not falling down the stairs in a police station.
That said, my civil liberties side says, hang on a minute…
As Sir John Stevens is now a Director of a DNA trace company (and Blinkett was involved with one very briefly) they must be aware that this is a key technology.
Spit kits are just one avenue of non consensual specimen collection - Maybe bar owners could collect glasses etc.,
Certainly no sympathy for gobbers (passing thought that the turf of Premiership footie grounds would yield a fine harvest)but the Plods are extraordinarily anxious to retain samples of the most inoccent people.
AS to it’s use for ID , the EU directive was specific in that it did not include DNA. In fact it will be decades before many are using fingerprints.
Anyone ever wondered why the Police can sometimes be seen picking up fag butts after peaceful demonstrations, especially those that are against government policy?
DNA can be collected from many external sources,it really does not need to be spit, anything that has been in your mouth- strawberry split sticks for example - or you have touched, such as a pub table top where you have left sebacious oils from your skin. And bar owners are already collecting glasses. I’ll try and hunt down the article to link to.
Every time you lick an envelope and send it to the government they have an opportunity to capture your DNA. How many times have you done it in the last 5 years? More than once and you’re already too late. You could get your dog to lick it, only to discover he’s wanted for indecent assault in 1982.