Blunkett has his finger on the trigger for one of the farthest-reaching and most expensive government IT projects - the UK ID card - and he's already demonstrated he is prepared to take the decision to go ahead, even when opposition is lining up to denounce the plan.

Blunkett's ID card plan will see the UK saddled with a massive database storing files on each and every British citizen - one of the biggest IT projects the government has ever handled. Blunkett's bunch are now trialling iris scanning, electronic fingerprinting and facial recognition as the potential means of identification with the final choice and vendor yet to be selected.

Extending his influence across the Channel, he's calling for a European DNA database to complement the cataloguing of Brits.

Blunkett has also revamped telecoms and internet access in the UK, although the difference to most UK web users may not be apparent, by making sure each web page visited or phone call made is monitored by the mobile operators, telcos and ISPs.

As Home Secretaries go, Blunkett has made a stab at feeling the pulse of IT. He recently declared that fighting the seemingly ever-growing tide of viruses and their ilk would need more cybercops.

While he gave few details of when the cybercops will appear and how they'll be paid for, Blunkett has been spending on some technology to tackle crime. The Home Secretary unveiled last month a plan to track criminals using satellite technology to monitor potential re-offenders.

With an eye on the future, it seems Blunkett will carry on his agenda setting pace, making sure technology insinuates its way further into the lives of even the most ordinary of British citizens.