UK government plans to sell ID card data

A report in today's Independent on Sunday claims that the UK government will attempt to subsidise its controversial plan to make us all carry identity cards by selling our data for £750 a throw.

According to the newspaper, government ministers have already entered discussions with private firms to flog our data in a bid to defray some of the billions the madcap scheme will cost.

Representatives of the UK government recently said that one of the major purposes of the ID card plan was to protect us all from identity theft. Naturally that pre-supposes that we have an identity to steal, rather unlikely if our data is being sold to grocers and other trades people.

Despite warnings from a phalanx of third party observers which oppose the plans on a number of grounds, the government is attempting to push ahead with the scheme, even though we'll all have to pay £200 or so for the dubious privilege of being forced to carry them.