NO2ID

October 27, 2010 No Comments

++ NO2ID Supporters’ Newsletter No. 133 – 8th October 2009 ++

*Contacting us:* Call or email the office – 020-7793-4005 or

(office@no2id.net). Please do not reply to this email. (The from address

is not a working email address)

+ BROWN CONS OWN CONFERENCE ON ID CARDS +

The biggest cheer that Brown got at the Labour Party Conference was when

delegates thought he had announced that the ID scheme had been

cancelled. He did not. He only repeated the same misleading things that

every Home Secretary has said about the scheme since it was first

mooted. But he did so with a flourish, as if announcing something new.

This seems to have fooled a lot of people to judge from newspaper

reports and our own mailbag. All Brown said was that the scheme would be

‘voluntary’ to start and would not be compulsory for a while. As ever he

focussed public attention on the cards and said nothing about the database.

Remember that the Home Office’s idea of “voluntary” is probably

different from yours. It means a scheme you cannot ever leave (unless it

dies before you do) once you “agree” to be included. And it is a scheme

that you will be compelled to “volunteer” for if you ever wish to apply

for any official document “designated” by the Home Secretary, the first

of which is planned to be a passport – from some point in 2011.

More explanation of the Home Office’s clever plan here:

http://www.no2id.net/pledge/how.php

*+ Manchester: exposing the ID Card Con +*

Though it plans to force us all to take part, the UK Identity and

Passport Service (UKIPS) is looking to hook a few genuine volunteers so

that it can claim that the scheme is popular. For unclear reasons

Manchester has been chosen as a ‘beacon city’ for this hunt for the

gullible, so NO2ID is mounting a counter-campaign this autumn. It begins

on the Saturdays of 10th and 17th October, when campaigners from

Manchester supported by volunteers from all over the country will be

taking information stalls onto the streets of Greater Manchester to

begin telling the people of the North West about the reality of the ID

scheme under the slogan: Don’t be a Guinea Pig.

More details here:

http://www.idcardcon.org

and Manchester NO2ID contacts in the local groups section.

————————————————————————

What just happened?

*+ More ID scheme Statutory Instruments introduced +*

More proof that the government is pressing ahead with its ID scheme has

emerged in another round of Statutory Instruments being introduced

before parliament and coming into force within the next few weeks

(despite parliament being in recess until 12th October). These include

‘SI 2009 No. 2574 – The Identity Cards Act 2006 (National Identity

Registration Number) Regulations 2009′. This relates to the unique

database number that will be issued to anyone who signs up to the

scheme, it states: “A National Identity Registration Number shall

provide no information in respect of a person other than that an entry

in the Register has been made and that the entry has been given that

number” – in other words the number will be just a number to people

without access to the database. Of course what it doesn’t explain is

that this number will be used to link records in multiple databases

across government and the private sector, allowing dossiers to be

constructed of all citizens in the scheme.

*

+ NO2ID Northern England coordinator appointed +*

With NO2ID’s local groups network growing fast, particularly in the

North where the Home Office seems currently to be concentrating its

efforts, we are buttressing support for volunteers in the North of

England. James Elsdon-Baker, our current volunteer co-ordinator for

Yorkshire has agreed to give up his current academic job and work

approximately three days a week (kindly funded by the Joseph Rowntree

Reform Trust Ltd) helping the formation and activities of NO2ID

supporters’ groups. If you are north of the Wash and south of the border

and would like to start NO2ID activity in your area, then please contact

James at north@no2id.net or 07817605162.

*+ Creeping demands for ID +

*A NO2ID supporter recently spotted disturbing evidence of a shift

towards an ID culture in the UK whilst watching the channel 5 television

programme “Brighton Beach Patrol” broadcast on 11th September. At around

18 minutes into the programme, a policeman rushes over to a man, pushes

him against the wall and shouts “ID NOW” at him. Our supporter explains:

“When the man says that he doesn’t have any ID, the policeman says that

he’s under arrest for failing to provide identification and being

anti-social. I’m aware that the police (and CSOs) have the power to

demand your details if they have reason to believe you have been, or

are, engaging in anti-social behaviour and it’s an offence to refuse or

to give false details, but as far as I know this hasn’t been changed to

give them the power to demand ID, although they certainly seem to think

it has in Brighton”.

The programme can be viewed online at:

http://demand.five.tv/Episode.aspx?episodeBaseName=C5148650002

*+ Plans for compulsory dog chip ID / National Database of owners +

*Both the Conservative and Labour parties says they support plans to

compulsorily microchip all dogs in the UK and place their owners’

details on a national database, claiming that it will help to reduce the

number of stolen and stray dogs. A 2007 press release from the Dogs

Trust revealed that the number of stray dogs in the UK fell by 25%

between 1997 and 2007 without such extreme measures being introduced and

the Control of Dogs Order 1992 already creates an offence of a dog in a

public space not wearing a collar and name tag. The plans are presented

as being widely supported, yet an Early Day Motion tabled in parliament

in May calling for compulsory chipping has attracted the signatures of

just 45 MPs, whereas EDM 1352 congratulating Burton Albion Football Club

on winning the Blue Square Premier title has received 49 signatures. All

horses now have to have a Horse Passport and an implanted chip, and from

next year all sheep will have to have an electronic tag as well.

————————————————————————

What’s next?

** *+ POWER2010 campaign wants your ideas +*

NO2ID supporters are invited to contribute ideas for the POWER2010

campaign, which will set out a reforming agenda at the next general

election. Naturally NO2ID would like ideas about curtailing the

database state to feature, but you are certainly not limited to that.

You can contribute ANY ideas for governmental reform on the campaign’s

website at: www.power2010.org.uk

Perhaps you have a solution to departments using phoney consultation

processes to railroad through a pre-determined policy. Or it might be

limits on the use of statutory instruments, which have allowed the

government to extend the use of ID cards without parliamentary scrutiny.

Perhaps you have a way for us all to maintain ownership of our personal

information. You decide. The only requirement is that it should be about

improving the way our democracy works and how the decisions are made

that affect our lives.

The ideas with most support will become the POWER2010 Pledge, which the

campaign intends to invite every candidate standing at the next general

election to make the pledge into their own public commitment, so that

the new parliament will be fully aware of what the public thinks of

those building-blocks of government which are fundamental but seldom

covered by manifestos.

*+ Have your say – National Identity Service Public Panels +*

The UK Identity and Passport Service (UKIPS) is setting up public panels

around the country to get the views of members of the public as they

build the “National Identity Service”. The UKIPS website states that

“Independent scrutiny is vital to the success of the National Identity

Service (NIS)”. Apparently they want to “put the public at the heart of

our service” and are “committed to making sure that the way we work is

completely transparent and that people, businesses and the Government

know their rights and responsibilities”. Public panels will be made up

of 11 members, and will meet for half a day up to three times a year.

The aim is to “produce an Identity Rights Charter. This will set out the

rights and responsibilities people, businesses and the Government have

under the NIS”. To join a panel you can fill in the online form at

www.ips.gov.uk/publicpanel or call 020 3356 8174.

More details at http://www.ips.gov.uk/cps/rde/xchg/ips_live/hs.xsl/1189.htm

————————————————————————

“ID” in the news

*+ Government changes tack on ID card tech – ZDNet 8/10/09 +*

The Identity and Passport Service has changed its plans for storing ID

card data, following the failure of a centralised government database to

meet security requirements. However, the government has not ruled out

storing biographical details on the database, the Department of Work and

Pension’s (DWP) Customer Information System (CIS), in the future.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39796446,00.htm

*+ Tories put faith in passport ID – BBC News online 7/10/09 +*

The Conservatives will “retrench” to a passport database when they scrap

the ID scheme, Chris Grayling has said. The shadow home secretary told a

Tory fringe meeting there was no need for an identity card scheme

storing 49 pieces of information about every citizen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8295863.stm

*+ ID card officials back away from scandal-hit database – Computer

Weekly 6/10/09 +*

The Home Office has confirmed it is reconsidering plans to use the

Customer Information System to store biometric data for the ID card

scheme. The Customer Information System (CIS) – which is run by the

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) – has yet to meet the Cabinet

Office’s latest standards on IT security, Computer Weekly has learned.

http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/10/06/238017/id-card-officials-back-away-from-scandal-hit-database.htm

*+ Politicians and celebrities granted permission to keep their names

off child database – Daily Mail 3/10/09 +*

Tens of thousands of politicians and celebrities will be allowed to keep

their names off a new Government children’s database, ministers said

yesterday. Their identities will be ‘shielded’ on the list which will

carry details of 11million children in England and their parents.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1217793/Politicians-celebrities-granted-permission-names-child-database.html

*+ A deeply flawed DNA test – The Guardian 2/10/09 +*

A Home Office experiment with the DNA of asylum seekers to establish

their likely race and place of origin is causing outrage and alarm among

scientists. Sir Alec Jeffreys, the inventor of DNA fingerprinting,

called the human provenance pilot project, run by the UK Border Agency

“naive and scientifically flawed”.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/henryporter/2009/oct/02/dna-test-asylum-seekers

*+ Government reverses Brown’s passport pledge – Kable 1/10/09 +*

In his speech to the Labour party conference on 29 September 2009, the

prime minister said: “We will reduce the information British citizens

have to give for the new biometric passport to no more than that

required for today’s passport.” However, the IPS said it is making no

changes to its plans, and confirmed that this includes adding

fingerprints to British passports.

http://www.kable.co.uk/gordon-brown-01oct2009

(Please send me any items of interest you encounter -

Editor(newsletter@no2id.net) )

————————————————————————

*+ LOCAL GROUPS NEWS + *

To see if there’s a group in your area check our list at

http://www.no2id.net/localgroups/

Or, if you’re interested in starting a group yourself, please contact

Matty on local.groups@no2id.net to discuss what’s involved and what we

have in place to support coordinators and their groups.

_*+ Alexandra Palace +*_

*+ 14th October – Alexandra Palace NO2ID Monthly Meeting (2nd Wednesday

of month) +*

Wednesday 14th October, 8:15pm at The Gate pub on Station Road (N22

7SS). All welcome. For further details please contact

alexandra.palace@no2id.net

_*+ Birmingham +*_*

+ 21st October – Birmingham NO2ID Meeting +

*Wednesday 21st October, 7:30pm at Bennetts Bar, 8 Bennetts Hill, B2 5RS.

*+ 24th October – Birmingham NO2ID Street Stall +

*Saturday 24th October, from 11am onwards in Birmingham City Centre.

_*+ Cambridge +*_

*+ 10th October – Cambridge NO2ID trip to Manchester +*

Saturday 10th October, Cambridge NO2ID supporters will be travelling to

the Manchester area to run a couple of street stalls in support of the

day of action . Free transport available, leaving Cambridge at 0800,

returning in the evening. If you’d like to join us for the day, please

get in touch: cambridge@no2id.net.

*+ 24th October – Cambridge NO2ID Street Stall +*

Saturday 24th October, in the usual spot outside Cambridge Guildhall

(http://www.aardvarkmap.net/mape/T5LZATLS) from 2pm (note new time).

Please contact Andrew on 07710 469624 if you’d like to help.

_**__*+ Canterbury +*_

To stay up to date join the Canterbury NO2ID mailing list on:

http://lists.no2id.net/mailman/listinfo/no2id.canterbury

_*+ Dorking +*_*

**+ 17th October – Dorking NO2ID in Manchester +*

Saturday 17th October — if you’d like to join us for the Manchester day

of action please contact us at dorking@no2id.net

*+ 24th October – Dorking NO2ID Street Stall +*

Saturday 24th October – for meeting time and venue contact dorking@no2id.net

_*+ Dover +*_*

*To stay up to date with Dover NO2ID join our mailing list on:

http://lists.no2id.net/mailman/listinfo/no2id.dover

_**__*+ Edinburgh +

*_*****

**+ 17th October – NO2ID Edinburgh day trip to Manchester +*

Saturday 17th October, we are planning to take a day trip down to

Manchester to run our street stall along with other groups in the

coordinated day of action. If you would like to join us, please get in

touch: edinburgh@no2id.net.

*

**+ 26th October – NO2ID Edinburgh Meeting +*

Monday 26th October at 7.00pm at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria

Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2JL. We shall be discussing the Scottish

Government’s current consultation on identity management and privacy

principles in Scotland. More details at

(http://www.no2id-scotland.net/edinburgh/future_meetings.html). All welcome.

*

+ Saturdays 1pm – 3pm – NO2ID Edinburgh Street Stall +*

Every week, weather permitting, you will find our campaigning stall at

the east end of Princes Street, opposite the Balmoral Hotel. Do drop by

for a chat. New volunteers – please contact John (edinburgh@no2id.net),

and for more group information see http://www.no2id-scotland.net/edinburgh/

_*+ Epsom +*_

If anyone wants to get involved in the Epsom area, please email or phone

NO2ID South East Regional Coordinator Geoff Cox on south.east@no2id.net

or call 01306 631377.

**

_*+ Glasgow +*_

*+ Scotland: Government consultation on Draft Principles for Privacy

Protection +*

On 31st August, the Scottish Government launched a 12 week consultation

on the draft principles produced by its Privacy Working Group. These

principles are intended to govern how personal information is handled by

the government. The consultation paper is available online:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/08/PrinciplesConsultation

_*+ Great Missenden +*_*

+ 20th November – Great Missenden NO2ID showing of “Taking Liberties” +*

Friday 20th November, 8pm at The Environment Centre, Bassetbury Lane,

High Wycombe HP11 1QX, there will be a showing of ‘Taking Liberties’ on

behalf of Great Missenden NO2ID. Admission is free but donations to

NO2ID are welcome.

_*+ Hammersmith & Fulham +*_

*+ 31st October – Hammersmith & Fulham NO2ID Street Stall +*

Saturday, 31st October 2009, Meet approx 11.00-12:30 outside Hammersmith

(District and Piccadilly lines) tube with a view to setting up opposite

Edward’s bar on the Broadway. As it’s Hallowe’en, it’s a good

opportunity to remind Joe Public that ID cards are not dead, but liable

to come back and haunt. We’re planning to use some (tasteful) artwork

and any suggestions are welcome! More information on

www.no2id-handf.org.uk/act.htm, or from Brian, hammersmith@no2id.net or

07976-414913.

*+ November date tbc – Call for Speakers for “Transformational

Government” Evening*

We are considering a ‘name speaker’ meeting on the vital topic of

‘Transformational government’, probably an evening meeting, midweek in

the second half of November. We would appreciate an early expression of

interest, please, including from anyone outside the group.

Meantime, thanks to those who supported our ‘Database State’ evening on

24th September. We are pleased to make available our speakers’

presentations on (www.no2id-handf.org.uk/db240909.htm).

_*+ Ipswich +*_*

*

*+ 14th October – Ipswich NO2ID Monthly Pub Meeting (second Wednesday of

every month) +

*Wednesday 14th October – for more information email Bobby at

ipswich@no2id.net or subscribe to mailing list at

http://www.no2id.net/mailman/listinfo/no2id.ipswich

_*+ Lancaster +*_

Subscribe to the Lancaster NO2ID e-mail list at

http://www.no2id.net/mailman/listinfo/no2id.lancaster

_*+ Leicester +*_

*+ 30th September – Leicester NO2ID Monthly Meeting +*

Wednesday 30th September, 8:30pm at The Lancaster Arms, 234 Green Lane

Road, Leicester. LE5 4PA

_*+ Manchester +*_

*+ 14th October – Manchester NO2ID Monthly Meeting +*

Wednesday 14th October, 7-9pm in the Town Hall Tavern, Tib Lane,

Manchester. Sadly, this venue is not wheelchair accessible; please

contact us on manchester@no2id.net if you have accessibility needs. At

our monthly meetings we discuss the state of the NO2ID campaign, what

we’ve been up to recently and where we’re going in future. Everyone is

welcome, newcomer or not, curious or committed. See minutes of our

previous meetings at (http://manchester.no2id.net/taxonomy/term/5). We

are always looking for volunteers to take and type up minutes from our

meetings; it’s an easy way to help the campaign!

http://manchester.no2id.net/content/monthly-meeting-october-2009*

+ 24th October – “Freedom Come, Freedom Go!” Manchester NO2ID Redux +*

Saturday 24th October, 6.30pm-7.30pm – A comedy show about our eroding

freedoms performed by Tom Read, stand up comedian, former member of

Manchester NO2ID and now coordinator of Norwich NO2ID. The show

appropriately is also entirely free! So come along and see what’s going

on. Definitely not to be missed! “Entertaining and educational” – Three

Weeks. This event takes place in the upstairs function room of the Town

Hall Tavern,Tib Lane, Manchester – the same location as Manchester NO2ID

meetings. Sadly, this venue is not wheelchair-accessible and involves

steep stairs.

http://manchester.no2id.net/content/freedom-come-freedom-go-manchester-id-redux

_

*+ Stop the ID Card Con around Greater Manchester +*_

*+ 10th October – Greater Manchester Street Stalls +*

Saturday 10th October, from 12-5pm. At the launch of a new campaign

against the rollout of ID cards in the North-West, NO2ID groups from

around the country will be visiting Greater Manchester. The groups will

set up street stalls in town and district centres to tell people “Don’t

be a guinea pig, stop the ID con!” We are looking to hold public

information stalls in Rochdale, Chorlton, Fallowfield, Oldham, Salford,

Stockport and Wythenshawe among others. Groups from as far away as

Edinburgh and Norwich will be helping to spread the word. If you’d like

to come along and help out at one of our stalls, or have a suggestion

for where we could hold another, please contact us on

manchester@no2id.net to tell us where you’d like to be. The Government

is launching a new push for the discredited, expensive and intrusive

National Identity Scheme. They cannot be allowed to spread their

misinformation unchallenged.

http://manchester.no2id.net/content/stop-id-card-con-around-greater-manchester

*+ 17th October – Manchester City Centre Street Stalls, Drop-in Centre

and Public Meeting +

*Saturday 17th October, from 12-5pm. NO2ID are holding an afternoon

drop-in workshop at the Friends Meeting House

on Mount Street, Manchester, where you can learn how to Stop the ID Card

Con. This is a chance for all to come along, meet up with, and get

involved in our campaign against the Database State. You will have a

chance to chat with experienced campaigners to explore what you can

personally do to help oppose the scheme, collect leaflets to spread the

word, and have the opportunity to experience helping out on one of our

many street stalls that will be taking place around the City Centre.

NO2ID and other campaign groups will be running stalls around Manchester

City Centre encouraging people to get involved; groups from around the

country will be coming to visit. If you’d like to volunteer to help

out, please contact us on manchester@no2id.net

At 3:30pm there will be a free public meeting in the Friends Meeting

House on Mount Street. We will be hosting a number of informative talks

from campaigners on the issues surrounding ID cards and the Database

state, which will be followed by an open question and answer session

where attendees can participate in the debate. Following the meeting we

will be heading out onto Albert Square to burn a mock ID card as a

symbol our continued opposition to the scheme.

http://manchester.no2id.net/content/stop-id-card-con-manchester-stalls-and-drop-workshop

**_*+ Norwich +*_

*+ 13th October – Norwich NO2ID Group Meeting +*

Tuesday 13th October, 7:30-9pm, Norwich NO2ID will be meeting at The

Workshop Cafe (opposite The Black Horse), 53 Earlham Road, NR2 3AD, to

discuss ways of keeping pressure on political parties to scrap the ID

card scheme and all of the wasteful, unsafe databases, and how to raise

awareness with the public. Come along to air your views and find more

ways to get involved.

*+ 17th October – Norwich NO2ID Street Stall +*

Saturday 17th October, 1-3pm at The Haymarket, Gentleman’s Walk. Set the

record straight on insipid, intrusive ID cards and devisive, derisory

databases! Meet the public and spread the word!

If you are interested in the work of the Norwich group, please join

their mailing list on: http://www.no2id.net/mailman/listinfo/no2id.norwich

_*+ Oxford +*_

*+ 17th October – Oxford NO2ID day trip to Manchester*

Saturday 17th September, we are planning to take a day trip up to

Manchester to join several other groups in a coordinated day of action.

If you are interested in this, again drop me an email at (oxford@no2id.net).

See the website for more: http://no2id-oxford.org.uk/

_*+ Reading +*_*

*

Contact Reading NO2ID on reading@no2id.net or join our web group at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Reading-No2ID/*

*

_*+ Shrewsbury +*_*

+ 17th October – Shrewsbury NO2ID Lunch Club and Street Stall +*

Saturday, 17th October – come for lunch at Rococo in Butcher Row at

12.30pm, and then join us on the street stall in Pride Hill. Let Rob

Findlay know that you’re coming (shrewsbury@no2id.net or 07973 848910)

so that we can grab enough table space for everybody.

_*+ Watford +*_*

*

The Watford group is looking for people in the South West Hertfordshire

area to join the group for our monthly meetings and street stalls.

Meetings take place on a Tuesday evening and street stalls on a Saturday

morning. Dates for the rest of 2009 are:

*+ 13th October, **10th November, 1st December** – Watford NO2ID Monthly

Meeting +*

*+ 24th October – Watford NO2ID Street Stall in Watford +*

*+ 14th November – Watford NO2ID Street Stall in Hemel Hempstead +

+ 5th December – Watford NO2ID Street Stall in St Albans +

*

Please contact Colin Simmons on watford@no2id.net if you are interested

in giving a couple of hours a month to join us.*

*

Publication details: © NO2ID 2009 – This document may be freely

redistributed in one-to-one communications or physical copies as long as

it is reproduced in its entirety including this notice. It may not be

mass-mailed without the prior permission of NO2ID.

NO2ID, Box 412, 19-21 Crawford Street, LONDON W1H 1PJ

Friends Of UKIP Horsham