Charles Clarke, then Home Secretary, answering a question from Ian Paisley, in the House of Commons during the second reading of the Identity Cards Bill:
[...] the Identity Cards Bill does not allow information to be provided from the national identity register to any foreign Government. That is the position--full stop.
Joan Ryan, now Minister of State responsible for ID cards, answering a written question from Lynne Jones, last week:
Section 18 of the Identity Cards Act allows information [from the national identity register] to be provided to overseas authorities, for example law enforcement agencies, for the purposes of criminal proceedings and investigations, as provided for in section 17 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.
The most charitable interpretation is a quibble over the difference between `allow' meaning to create a new power, and `allow' meaning to fail to prohibit the exercise of one which already exists.
Anyway, since that was about ID cards, you get a holiday photo:
Comments
Posted by Sarcy Fenian, Thursday, 10 August 2006 19:57 (link):
Oh, please, don't tell me that the Blair regime is now so far to the right that IAN PAISLEY is worried?!
Posted by Chris Lightfoot, Thursday, 10 August 2006 20:29 (link):
Actually I think he was concerned that data from the ID cards database might be shared with the Republic of Ireland, which is presumably in his mind more-or-less the worst possible thing that could be done with it. But I don't think the contention that Blair is now to the right of Ian Paisley is completely wrongheaded....
Posted by guy herbert, Friday, 11 August 2006 17:16 (link):
Well spotted. Of course "allow" also means "only when convenient to HMG". If you follow the twisty train of citation and non-textual ammendment to see where the data-sharing overseas ends, you'll see it is no good crying if the information supplied sent to foreign goverments or foreign courts (if you a UK citizen, are being tried abroad, and would like some evidence from the NIR in your support, say) is not forthcoming, over forthcoming, wrong, partial, or creatively adapted. They're allowed to do that... for reasons of state, the old euphemism was.
It might be useful if you are James Bond, as long as your licence hasn't run out. But people less popular with or important to the government than fictional superspies would be advised to avoid situations where they are relying on the competence and lack of spite of a Home Office agency to decide their fate a long way from home... Situations like being a long way from home, if the ID system becomes a major part of British life.
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