ID database will track NI numbers

The Home Secretary has admitted in a Parliamentary answer, see here, that the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) is collecting National Insurance numbers from every person who applies for an ID card, and storing them on the National Identity Register - the ID card database.

As from next year it will be compulsory to apply for entry on the National Identity Register in order to receive a passport, this means that all passport applicants will also have their NI number collected and stored for life.

Mr Johnson's answer failed to mention other categories of information, in addition to what is currently recorded on the passport database, that are to be held on the National Identity Register.

Phil Booth, NO2ID's National Coordinator, said:

The National Identity Scheme has never been about a card - it's about tracking you throughout your life, linking your details by the numbers.

This admission confirms the Home Office's intentions for the scheme. It wants to track you through every government and private database it can - and your NI number's just the start.

It is also worth mentioning that the Electoral Commission tells us that: from 2011 onwards, we will report annually to Parliament on the progress of the voluntary collection of personal identifiers - National Insurance number, signature and date of birth - from electors, to make sure that the conditions are appropriate before any move to compulsory provision of identifiers.