And they want to introduce ID Cards?

The fiasco of 25 million people's details begin 'lost' by HMRC should be used as a case study in ignorance, stupidity and ineptitude.

Apparently, HMRC's information system was not flexible enough to cope with the transfer of selective data for their audit: at least there was an initial awareness from the National Audit Office that the data needed to be filtered. However, instead of establishing a secure encryption process for the appropriate data, the practice of burning the total data set onto cds began. This started to happen as early as March 2007.

This is absolutely shambolic. How many more cds are floating around with every single personal detail stored on Government databases? Who are the employees who think it is acceptable to share highly-sensitive data with outside parties?

I am tremendously opposed to the Identity Cards scheme primarily for this reason. I agree with the civil liberties arguments against the scheme but argued in my disertation that the security, integrity and functionality of the scheme are its weaknesses. This episode goes to prove that there are so many fundamental failings with the information management at the heart of government, that we should not even contemplate allowing the state to control our identity.