Topical question asked in the House of Commons, by David Davis (Conservative). It was answered on Monday, 26 November 2007 on behalf of the Home Office.

Topical Questions

Question: May I ask the Home Secretary about the subject of identity cards? If the Government give away someone's bank account details, that is a disaster, but at least they can change their bank account. What, precisely, does someone do if the Government give away their biometric details?

Answer: There is of course an important protection in an identity card system, through the use of biometrics. Biometrics will link a person securely and reliably to his or her unique identity. It will therefore become much more difficult for people to misuse other people's identity, even if full details of their biographical information are already known. The current plan for the national identity register is for biometric information to be held separately from biographical information, thereby safeguarding against the sort of eventuality that the right hon. Gentleman described.

Secondary information