Report - Guardian

210 The LSE Identity Project Report: June 2005In October 2004 the Prime Minister expressed his own participation in the programme.“This morning also I took part in the trial testing of the new biometrictechnology for identity cards. It is important we get this technologyright and ensure it will be user-friendly for the public. That is ofcourse the purpose of the trial. Overall progress is very encouragingand I am confident we can successfully develop a secure biometric IDcard for the whole country, and I think ID cards have an importantrole to play in fighting serious crime and terrorism and tackling illegalimmigration.” 490The programme was due to be completed in three months, however. In November thetrial was extended to address concerns expressed by disabled people. 491The final report was due to be released in September 2004 but publication was againdelayed to May 2005, at which time it was released in conjunction with the Bill.The report’s findings, which provided a disappointing result for the accuracy ofbiometric technologies, are considered in more detail elsewhere in this report.However, when the issue of technological effectiveness was raised in Parliamentarydebates, the Government was adamant that the technology functioned well. In theSecond Reading in the House of Lords, Baroness Scotland stated:“Biometrics are a new concept and some have asked us the obviousquestion: will it work? I can reassure noble Lords that the NationalPhysical Laboratory carried out a study in 2003 and published a reportwhich concluded that:‘In principle, fingerprint or iris recognition can provide theidentification performance required for unique identificationover the entire UK adult population.’Not only that, but the United Kingdom Passport Service has alsocarried out a trial of biometric enrolment of a sample of some 10,000individuals to test the practicalities of enrolling biometrics. This hasincluded using a mobile enrolment unit that could travel to rural areasas well as to offshore islands.” 492The report was not ready in time for the consideration of Parliament when the Bill wasfirst presented.The Home Office Science and Technology Reference Group is also due to publish areport on the Identity Cards Programme. In response to a parliamentary question inDecember 2004, the then Home Office Minister Des Browne said:490 PM Press Conference, October 25, 2005.491 ‘Cost of ID card and passport rises to £85’, Alan Travis, The Guardian, November 3, 2004.492 Hansard, March 20, 2005.