By no2idscotland, submitted on Mon, 15/05/2006 - 12:28
Monday 15th May, 10:00
Civil liberties campaigners, local politicans and members of the general public gathered at Glasgow Passport Office to renew their passports early and avoid being forced onto the National Identity Register.
The first NO2ID campaigners to arrive at Glasgow Passport Office put banners on the side of the building to reassure the waiting police officers across the road that they are watching the right people.
As more civil liberties activists arrive, they prepare to be dehumanised by the procedures of the recently-formed Identity and Passport Service (IPS). Meanwhile, others talk to journalists who have come to find out what NO2ID's "Renew for Freedom" campaign is all about.
From October 2006 all first time applicants for passports will have to submit to detailed personal interviews. Some time later, this will be required of all other passport applicants.
69 new processing centres are being set up across the UK to facilitate these interviews. IPS are already planning the installation of biometric capture devices in these new centres, with which they will be able to take fingerprints and iris scans of their victims. Any information obtained during these interviews may be used to form the basis of individuals' records on the National Identity Register (NIR).
As well as recording the results of the biometric data-rape, the NIR will store many other categories of data, listed in Schedule 1 of the Identity Cards Act 2006. Data such as all names by which one has been known and all previous addresses. It will also include all state-issued numbers (NHS number, National Insurance number, passport number, driver number, other ID card numbers, etc.) to allow the Government to link together all their different records into one vast meta-database.
Keeping such a large data set accurate would be a monumental task, so the Home Office are placing the onus on us; failure to notify the authorities of any change in details can lead to fines of up to 1000 pounds issued by the Home Office without bothering to clog up the cumbersome court system.
The NIR will also record every occasion on which an identity is verified against the database. So anonymous visits to clinics will be a thing of the past and the Government will have a record of every time you apply for credit, or buy a mobile phone, or make a large cash withdrawal or deposit at the bank, or get stopped by the police, or fly on a plane, or do any of the many other things which the Government intend to make dependent on proof of ID.
10:30.
Ready to face the faceless bureaucracy inside, campaigners lead a queue of people towards the door, only to find their way blocked by the chief of security. The facility for handing passport applications in at the door of the office has been "suspended". This despite the fact that they had checked with the Passport Advice line just last week that applications could be handed in at the door, and despite assurances in Parliament by Home Office ministers that people wishing to delay enrolment onto the NIR could apply for early renewal of their passports.
While the campaigners discuss this with the security chief and try to phone to make an appointment for the group, nearby police officers seem eager to try out their own biometric capture device on the queue of people hoping to beat compulsory registration.
Foiled in their attempt to beat the system this time, the campaigners left to find some reporters to whom they could explain the problem. Their departure was watched by the queue of people who had hoped to join them in preserving their right to privacy for another decade. Alas, the Passport Office allowed no-one in, even turning away local MSP Patrick Harvie.
NO2ID are calling for people to renew their passports this month, even if they still have several years left to run. Despite the suspension of the post box at the front of the passport office, applications can still be sent through the post office and at least some of those applications might not get lost in the post. Fast track applications can also be made which will get your passport to you in one day, if you pay an increased fee and make an appointment at least a week in advance.
The Government could start demanding biometric data from passport applicants at any time. Don't delay - Renew for Freedom. Just don't try to do it while wearing a white suit and a mask; the Home Office want to dehumanise you all by themselves.
The first NO2ID campaigners to arrive at Glasgow Passport Office put banners on the side of the building to reassure the waiting police officers across the road that they are watching the right people.
As more civil liberties activists arrive, they prepare to be dehumanised by the procedures of the recently-formed Identity and Passport Service (IPS). Meanwhile, others talk to journalists who have come to find out what NO2ID's "Renew for Freedom" campaign is all about.
From October 2006 all first time applicants for passports will have to submit to detailed personal interviews. Some time later, this will be required of all other passport applicants.
69 new processing centres are being set up across the UK to facilitate these interviews. IPS are already planning the installation of biometric capture devices in these new centres, with which they will be able to take fingerprints and iris scans of their victims. Any information obtained during these interviews may be used to form the basis of individuals' records on the National Identity Register (NIR).
As well as recording the results of the biometric data-rape, the NIR will store many other categories of data, listed in Schedule 1 of the Identity Cards Act 2006. Data such as all names by which one has been known and all previous addresses. It will also include all state-issued numbers (NHS number, National Insurance number, passport number, driver number, other ID card numbers, etc.) to allow the Government to link together all their different records into one vast meta-database.
Keeping such a large data set accurate would be a monumental task, so the Home Office are placing the onus on us; failure to notify the authorities of any change in details can lead to fines of up to 1000 pounds issued by the Home Office without bothering to clog up the cumbersome court system.
The NIR will also record every occasion on which an identity is verified against the database. So anonymous visits to clinics will be a thing of the past and the Government will have a record of every time you apply for credit, or buy a mobile phone, or make a large cash withdrawal or deposit at the bank, or get stopped by the police, or fly on a plane, or do any of the many other things which the Government intend to make dependent on proof of ID.
10:30.
Ready to face the faceless bureaucracy inside, campaigners lead a queue of people towards the door, only to find their way blocked by the chief of security. The facility for handing passport applications in at the door of the office has been "suspended". This despite the fact that they had checked with the Passport Advice line just last week that applications could be handed in at the door, and despite assurances in Parliament by Home Office ministers that people wishing to delay enrolment onto the NIR could apply for early renewal of their passports.
While the campaigners discuss this with the security chief and try to phone to make an appointment for the group, nearby police officers seem eager to try out their own biometric capture device on the queue of people hoping to beat compulsory registration.
Foiled in their attempt to beat the system this time, the campaigners left to find some reporters to whom they could explain the problem. Their departure was watched by the queue of people who had hoped to join them in preserving their right to privacy for another decade. Alas, the Passport Office allowed no-one in, even turning away local MSP Patrick Harvie.
NO2ID are calling for people to renew their passports this month, even if they still have several years left to run. Despite the suspension of the post box at the front of the passport office, applications can still be sent through the post office and at least some of those applications might not get lost in the post. Fast track applications can also be made which will get your passport to you in one day, if you pay an increased fee and make an appointment at least a week in advance.
The Government could start demanding biometric data from passport applicants at any time. Don't delay - Renew for Freedom. Just don't try to do it while wearing a white suit and a mask; the Home Office want to dehumanise you all by themselves.Related
http://www.renewforfreedom.org
http://scotland.indymedia.org/newswire/display/2814/index.php
