By Steve Ranger, 25 July 2005 15:40
NEWS The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) is spending £5m to equip embassies and consulates around the world with the technology to issue biometric passports.
One in 10 British passports is issued overseas, and the new web-based Identity Document Issuance System aims to make sure these passports are as secure as those issued at home by the UK Passport Office, which is in the midst of a move to biometric passports.
Technology company 3M will install new passport issuance systems that can identify biometric information at 104 embassies, consulates and high commissions.
Biometric technology aims to prevent multiple passports from being issued to the same person under different identities.
Facial measurements from passport photographs will be converted into a digital format and stored on a chip on the passport, along with name, age and birthplace.
FCO director of consular services Paul Siezland said: "Secure identity documentation is increasingly important given today's focus on improving border controls."
He said 3M's track record in issuing secure documents included an earlier project for the FCO to issue machine-readable passports.
Comments
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1. Duane Phillips
This level on spending on high tech id is just the tip of the iceberg and a complete waste of time, money and effort.
How many prescriptions for Alzheimers drugs could this buy for those that need it and have had it taken away? How many immigration officers or bobbies on the beat could this pay for?
2. frank dreyer
Will Biometric technology help to beat terrorists, or is that a false argument ? Think about it:
If biometric technology aims to prevent multiple passports from being issued to the same person under different identities, spies would be history. And that's impossible, so there would of course be sophisticated solutions for secret agents to get around that "bullet-proof" system.
Hence, sophisticated solutions can be bought for money, which "terrorist-organisations" don't seem to lack.
The terrorist threat is continously being used as a reason to introduce Biometric technology combined with Stalinian/Hitlerian data bases on citizens (see article " What data will ID cards store?" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4630045.stm ), but if Biometric technology will not help beat terrorists;
What is the REAL reason the government wants Biometric technology ?