Blunkett came under severe attacks for not allowing enough debate over the ID cards introduction

LONDON, April 25 (IslamOnline.net) – In a move to assure its Muslim community introduction of the first ID cards in Britain since the Second World War was not signaling them out, the government will reportedly exempt Muslim women from showing their faces on the controversial ID cards.

On Monday, April 26, British Home Secretary, David Blunkett is to unveil plans for a national pilot of biometric testing, the technology used in ID cards, as part of a draft Bill to crack down on identity fraud, according to the Independent daily Sunday, April 25.

“As many as 10,000 volunteers will be recruited to have iris and facial scans taken, as well as fingerprints, at the UK Passport Service headquarters in London and at three further centers to be announced at a later date.”

As Blunkett came under severe attacks for not allowing enough debate over the ID cards introduction, British officials made it clear that if Muslim women do not want to reveal their faces in public, that would be respected, reported the Observer Sunday.

“Instead of a photograph, there would be an exemption for certain people, who would only have to give fingerprint and iris-recognition data.

“Although the exact type of information held on the card has still to be finalized in negotiation with other industrialized nations, Home Office sources made it clear that they backed the idea.”

A source close to Blunkett was quoted by the Observer as saying, “We have had constructive discussions with the Muslim community and want to assure them we are sensitive to their points of view”.

“The Home Secretary moved after representations from the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB). Officials on the council told The Observer that although they support the idea of identity cards they are concerned that they could be used to persecute ethnic minorities.”

A legal advisor to MCB told the Observer, “As we have seen with the anti-terror laws and with stop and search, if powers are used in the wrong way they can have the effect of singling out a community for no good reason.

“We are not against ID cards as such, but we want to ensure that they are used properly.”

The move, however, was set to come under attack from civil liberties groups, who believe the proposals put more power in the hands of the state and are likely to be technically unworkable, according to the Observer.

“The public have serious and understandable concerns that the Government will simply not be able to handle the data they will be attempting to collect,” Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, told the daily.

The Earl of Selborne, chairman of the Royal Society's influential science in society committee, said that the public should be aware of the dangers of ID cards, according to the paper.

“There has been a lack of public debate and there is a very real danger that we are sleepwalking into our technological future,” he said.

“The public suggested that they should hold information that might be useful in a medical emergency such as blood group or allergies.

“But what if the cards also held data about our genetic disposition to specific diseases, or revealed information about our lifestyles that affect health, such as how much we are overweight or how much alcohol we are drinking, updated daily.

“These are technically possible in the future, so we should be discussing whether they are desirable.”

According to the Independent, Monday's draft Bill will set out government proposals for a National Identity Register to hold details of all 60 million people in the UK.

“The draft Bill will also include plans to make carrying false identity papers a specific offence for the first time. Anyone found with forged passports, driving licenses or other official ID will face up to 10 years in prison.”