NO2ID defies weather in joint Coventry stall

Defying the icy cold weather, NO2ID Coventry Co-ordinator Claire Boylan and her fellow supporters were joined by two members of the Birmingham group when they set up a stall in their first attempt to give Coventry residents the chance to say no to ID. Birmingham’s co-ordinator Michelle Graham and assistant co-ordinator Ghiyas Somra lent an experienced hand in doling out NO2ID leaflets and pointing people to the petition.

Early Christmas shoppers were keen to add their names to the petition calling for the card and its underlying database to be scrapped, telling the campaigners that they were not happy for this or any other government to be allowed to snoop on every citizen in the country. Privacy seemed to trump cost on the list of priorities expressed by those signing the petition, though at £93 per card this was also a big factor.

By the end of the day, Christine, Phil, Claire, Ghiyas and Ron [not pictured] had collected 65 signatures – a massive success on their first outing. Well done Coventry and thanks too to Nikki who brought free coffee and biscuits.

'Big Brother' database plan shelved

The Independent reports that the Data Communications Bill has been dropped from the Queen's Speech, which outlines the government's legislative plans for the coming parliamentary year.

The paper notes that:

The Home Office has been stung by the strength of opposition. Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, has condemned it as a "step too far" while Lord Carlile of Berriew, the Government's terrorism watchdog, said it was "awful" as a "raw idea".

Some ministers are also worried about the wisdom of pressing ahead with the measures in the face of public hostility to the scheme, particularly in the light of a succession of embarrassing data losses by the Government.

Thanks to Andy.

NO2ID Birmingham November meeting

The next NO2ID Birmingham meeting will be on Thursday 27 November at 7:30pm. As usual, we'll be meeting in the Boardroom at Bennett's Bar.

£1,000 fine for wrong ID details

On the BBC News website:

Women who change their name after marriage could face fines of up to £1,000 if they fail to tell the government, under new proposals.

Anyone with a biometric passport or ID card will be required to notify the National Identity Register of changes to the personal data it holds.

The £30 fixed fee for an ID card is likely to rise after 2010, draft laws published earlier also reveal.

Redditch stall massive success

Birmingham NO2ID took to the streets of Redditch to make the case against ID cards in Jacqui Smith's constituency. With local journalists reporting on the event and the town's Conservative party spokesperson lending a hand, the stall was a massive success.

The group gathered 86 signatures on the petition, which was a massive spur of encouragement for what was an icy cold day of campaigning.

Ghiyas Somra, Birmingham's Assistant Co-ordinator said: " I think people realise that spending £20 billion on this scheme in today's economic climate just isn't worth it."

Tory Party spokesperson for Redditch Karen Lumley said: "I was delighted to see so many people signing up to the NO2ID campaign. We have seen again this week data being lost and many people are unsure how exactly an ID card they are going to have to pay for is going to make this country safer."

Karen Lumley, Tory Party spokesperson for Redditch, joins Gill, Steve W, Lesley and Ghiyas. Also there on the day: Steve A, Kelvin, Anthony, Jennie, Andy M and Michelle.