The A to Z of ID cards

B is for Biometrics

The ID cards project will use biometrics - unique physical characteristics - to identify card holders.

The ID cards will use 13 biometrics: 10 fingerprints, both irises and the face.

These will be recorded when someone applies for a card. This data will then be stored on the card on a chip and also in the new National Identity Register (NIR).

Government agencies and businesses can then confirm someone's identity by checking these biometrics, which the government argues will make identity fraud much harder.

Anyone trying to make a major financial transaction, for example, would have their biometrics data checked. If they were not the registered cardholder this check would fail, the government claims.

However, early trials of biometrics have shown that the technology is not without its problems.

It is harder to record the biometrics of some people - and of course not everyone can provide them all. Privacy groups are concerned about the wisdom of a project that will eventually mean the fingerprinting of everyone in the country.

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