If you've got nothing to hide...

...you've got nothing to fear - one of the most common phrases levelled at people arguing against the National Identity Register. The answer will be the subject of some forthcoming blogs; but as a starter, here's A C Grayling's retort:

"The assumption behind the 'if you have nothing to hide' claim is that the authorities will always be benign, will always reliably identify and interfere with genuinely bad people only, will never find themselves engaging in 'mission creep' with more and more uses to put their new powers and capabilities to, will not redefine crimes, and even various behaviours or views now regarded as acceptable."