Now -read the book!

Here is a link to my memoirs which, if you are a glutton for punishment, you can purchase online at https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/an-obscure-footnote-in-trade-union-history.
Men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and when it comes turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name. (William Morris - A Dream of John Ball)

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Security of our personal data and ID cards...

Just a quick thought. If the Government cannot keep our personal data safe – then how dare they continue to propose ID Cards (which UNISON opposes)?

If anyone thinks the Government should be trusted with our personal data then I have to say that you have not been paying attention to history.

No good can come of entrusting the Government with our personal information – particularly not when they simply cannot keep it safe!

3 comments:

Received Wisdom said...

An amazingly original insight Jon.

Did you write the Sun editorial today?



The Sun says...

THE eye-popping scale of this government’s latest fiasco beggars belief.


First we saw Chancellor Alistair Darling trying to justify bucketloads of taxpayers’ cash for bankrupt Northern Rock.


Now he is forced to explain how tax chiefs lost CDs containing sensitive files on 25 MILLION citizens.


Nobody knows where these discs have gone — or whose dodgy hands they have fallen into.


Calamity-prone Revenue and Customs boss Paul Gray promptly quit before he could be booted out.


Mr Darling is undoubtedly in trouble.


He fumbled the Northern Rock shambles and deserves criticism. One more strike and he’s out.


But while he rightly describes the loss of these secret files as “inexcusable”, this is NOT a resigning issue for the Chancellor.


He inherited a system already plagued by catastrophic failures of management.



It was Paul Gray who also presided over the disappearance of a massive £2bn in tax credits for the poorest in society.


Now there may be an even bigger casualty of his crass incompetence.


This country desperately needs electronic ID cards to combat terrorism and protect national security.


But who will trust an incompetent regime which casually allows the confidential records of half the population to be lost in the post?


Over recent months, this government has stumbled from one bushfire to another.


Separate blazes now risk turning into a potentially dangerous political firestorm.


Shadow Chancellor George Obsorne spoke for everyone yesterday when he warned ministers: “Forget about vision . . . just get a grip.”

Anonymous said...

An example of the the old theory about the far left turning full circle into the far right?

Anonymous said...

That information that is currently missing is the very same information that may be used to undermine our national security. Anyone seeking to clone IDs won't do it today, or even this year - it could be years before the extent of the problems caused by this lack of data security is known.

Whoever thinks that this justifies the need for electronic ID cards is delusional......... any such plans must be scrapped immediately.

So far, we merely have a fraction of the population (it's only 25m of us, after all) with their personal data currently AWOL. Surely (!) the government won't risk the personal ID of the entire population going "missing in the post".

And I think we can all be sure that Alistair Darling will bluff his way through this. There'll probably be someone on an EO grade in the service who takes the rap for this!

And by the way, was that really a TNT van I saw on the 6 o'clock news - to indicate how the Civil Service sends its internal mail around. What's up with using the Royal Mail!!

It's all too much for me - I'm going for a lie-down :)