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UK Can't Read Its Own ID Cards

An anonymous reader writes "Despite the introduction of ID cards last November, it has emerged that Britain has no readers that are able to read the cards' microchips, which contain the person's fingerprints and other biometric information. With cops and border guards unable to use the cards to check a person's identity, critics are calling the £4.7bn scheme 'farcical' and a 'waste of time.'"

13 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. privacy by justhatched · · Score: 5, Funny

    It is a security measure

    1. Re:privacy by davester666 · · Score: 5, Funny

      except everybody BUT the gov't can read them...

      it's funny, but sad-funny.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  2. Dad's Army by BBadhedgehog · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Is anyone really surprised? There are people out there who still don't believe that Dad's Army was an early example of reality TV. Government competence levels have not improved in the ensuing years.

    --
    Will you PLEASE F off with the Fing beta now?
  3. Re:Look at Belgium by AlXtreme · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Stop making fun at Belgium and follow in their food steps.

    *puts mayonnaise on his fries*

    Joking aside, it seems like the Belgians have done this right: You need a code to access the information from the passport, similar to your bank/creditcard. Not perfect, but at least it isn't readable by everyone.

    --
    This sig is intentionally left blank
  4. Re:You don't say. by BobisOnlyBob · · Score: 5, Funny

    That sentence no verb!! You have no idea how much that me. >:(

  5. Re:Offtopic? by Hognoxious · · Score: 5, Informative

    It is offtopic. "Dad's Army" was at best tangentially related to the government.

    What you want is "Yes, Minister". Down the corridor, third on the left.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  6. Re:You don't say. by molecular · · Score: 5, Funny

    I accidentally the card's microchip, is this bad? :(

    not if you didn't the chip on purpose, then you only have to money, not to jail.

  7. Re:"in response to an FoI request"?!? by Davidis · · Score: 5, Informative

    Freedom of Information Act 2000 Only exceptions to this in government is the Official secrets act. which means the information comes out in 50 years. this is better than the US where 90% of it never comes out at all. The Act

  8. Re:"in response to an FoI request"?!? by JohnBailey · · Score: 5, Funny

    About 9 years ago.

    It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of The Leopard.

    --
    It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it.
  9. Re:Look at Belgium by Goffee71 · · Score: 5, Funny

    and when the credit crunch really bites, pony sausages and a nice warm coat

    --
    If he's the Walrus then can I be a penguin please?
  10. Re:"in response to an FoI request"?!? by XSpud · · Score: 5, Informative

    Exceptions include information other that that covered by the Official Secrets Act.

    There are also a whole lot of exemptions, such as data that is commercially sensitive, related to criminal investigations or where disclosure would contravene the Data Protection Act etc. When a request is refused the reason for the exemption must be given to the requester.

    In practise the Act has meant a lot of information is now public where it wouldn't have been before.

  11. Re:Where exactly are these cards? by Sockatume · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not just asylum seekers, anyone here on a settlement visa. My wife's got to have a card now, even though she's here fully legitimately and I'm a full-fledged British citizen andsubject of HRH Queen Elizabeth the Second. And students are next in line, which as a PhD researcher means yours truly. If you refuse? Well, you lose your visa or your student status as appropriate. They're targetting those that are least able to object in order to build up an "installed base".

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    No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
  12. Re:Look at Belgium by rHBa · · Score: 5, Funny

    We could call it the OPPC project