Gov trumpets ePassports successes

The government has pointed to the successes of its ePassports scheme, claiming 4,000 ineligible visa applications have been blocked due to biometric checks.

Speaking at a Westminster eForum, Stephen Harrison, director of Policy at the Identity and Passport service, said: "Biometric ID is not just about control it's about making life easier for legitimate travellers."

Silicon.com's A to Z of ID Cards

Click on the links below to find out everything you ever needed to know about the government's ID card plans...

A is for Act
B is for Biometrics
C is for Compulsory
D is for Data privacy worries
E is for EDS
F is for Forgery
G is for Government IT
H is for Home Office
I is for Identity and Passport Service
J is for Jury
K is for Hong Kong
L is for London School of Economics
M is for Money
N is for National Identity Register
O is for Other cards
P is for Passports
Q is for Quarter
R is for Refuseniks
S is for Self-destruct
T is for Terrorist
U is for Utility bill
V is for Verification
W is for When
X is for Xenophobia
Y is for Young people
Z is for London Zoo

Biometric checking enabled immigration authorities to catch out more than 4,000 visa applicants who had sought to withhold information regarding a previous immigration matter.

Seven out of 10 of these matches were due to fingerprint data previously collected in the UK from individuals who had attempted to claim asylum before, according to the government.

The government's ID cards scheme has not been popular with silicon.com readers and even Conservative Party leader David Cameron pledged to scrap the scheme - and undertake a full-scale review of the £12.4bn NHS IT upgrade project - if the Tories win the next General Election.