"Big Brother" Gaining Ground in Great Britain
Pastor Dale Morgan
"Big Brother" Gaining Ground in Great Britain*
Mar 11th, 2007 12:01 PM
By Bryan Terry
Maybe George Orwell was on to something...
It seems that "Big Brother" is gaining ground in Great Britain. Starting
in 2009, in order to apply for a passport, Britons will be required to
register their fingerprints, facial scans and a host of personal
information such as second homes, drivers licenses and insurance policy
numbers. If they do this, they will receive a national ID card and then
their passport. However, the program is not mandatory. The British
government has said that the program is voluntary and that people will
be allowed to opt out. However, those that do will be denied receiving a
British passport.
Since the program has been proposed one in eight Britons has said that
they would refuse to register their personal information with the
government. This could mean that up to five million people would be
refused the right to travel outside of Great Britain.
Phil Booth, a member of the NO2ID group, said: "The idea that ID cards
scheme is voluntary, and people can opt-out, is a joke. There are all
sorts of reasons why people need to travel, not just for holidays. There
is work, visiting relatives. What are these people supposed to do? It
stretches the definition of voluntary beyond breaking point. They will
go to any length to get personal information for this huge database. Who
knows what will happen to it then?"
The notion that this is a voluntary program comes in since Britons need
not receive one of the official ID cards, however in order to receive a
passport they will still need to surrender their personal information
and pay the full £93 price for an ID card and a passport. So, in spite
of the government's insistence that the program is mandatory, the only
way in which Britons will be able to avoid the program entirely is if
they never renew or apply for a passport again; this means that those
British citizens who refuse to participate for whatever reasons will
effectively be compelled to stay in Great Britain for the rest of their
lives, unable to leave the island nation for whatever reason.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said: "This comment
confirms long standing suspicions that the government's claim that the
ID database will be voluntary is simply not true. The voluntary claim is
serving as a fig leaf for a universal compulsory system. Once again the
government's ID card plans are being pursued behind the backs of the
British people."
Nearly 6.6 million Britons apply for travel documents annually, and
Booth stated that these challenges to the new law were "inevitable" as
"restricting the right of free movement is a grave breach of human
rights law." Indeed, a survey found that 12% of Britons would refuse to
participate in the program, "even if it meant paying a fine of serving a
prison sentence."
The Labour Party has pursued the introduction of the ID card legislation
for a long time, claiming that the program would help to defeat fraud
and illegal immigration. Opponents to the legislation have protested
that there is not enough oversight of the program and are concerned that
costs could escalate out of control. Indeed some analysts predict that
the final cost of the program could exceed £20 billion.
When asked why the ID cards program is linked to the issuing of
passports, a spokesman for the Home Office said "it was more cost
effective to link the issuing of passports and ID cards, rather than
allow people to register their details for one but not the other."