Biometric High Street Defended by Home Secretary
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has reiterated that biometric scans taken in the high street retail environment will be safe.
Anti-ID campaigners have protested that there is no sure-fire way to guarantee the security of data collected in shops, a suggestion the Home Secretary was quick to quash.
“It is clearly important, and part of the work we are doing and the plans we have in place, to ensure the secure, controlled transfer of any biometrics,” Smith told ZDNet UK at a press event. “I believe it is technically possible to do that. I don’t see the challenge is greater because more people are accredited to do it.”
When asked about the possibility of a change in government causing the National Identity Scheme to be scrapped, Smith said: “I can’t answer whether the Tories would cancel the ID scheme - [If they do] they will have to answer how they will fill the black hole not only left by ID cards but biometric passports. They would have to answer why they have taken away security and convenience from the British people.”