A Wanstead man has become the first person in London to enrol for a national ID card for 16 to 24-year-olds (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)
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A Wanstead man has become the first person in London to enrol for a national ID card for 16 to 24-year-olds
3:30pm Monday 8th February 2010 in
THE FIRST young person in London to apply for a new national ID card has completed the enrolment process in central London.
Peter Fawcett, 21, of Lorne Gardens in Wanstead, had his fingerprints recorded and a photgraph taken at the London Passport Office in Victoria this morning (Monday February 8).
Mr Fawcett, who has lived in Wanstead his whole life and went to Davenant Foundation School in Loughton, said: “I was keen from the outset to get a National Identity Card.
“I will be travelling to Holland next month and the convenience of taking the credit card-sized ID card with me in my wallet for use as a travel document far outweighs taking my passport with me.
“My passport is also getting really battered by me carrying it around as proof of age. With a national identity card, I can leave my passport at home and carry my ID card in my wallet instead.
“If I lose it I only have to pay £30 instead of £77.50 to have it replaced.”
Mr Fawcett, who works for National Rail, said he wasn't worried about his information being stored on a central database.
He said: “Your passport details are all stored so I don't worry about that. And to be honest, if you've got nothing to hide you've got nothing to worry about.
“Plus if you go into London every day your face is on CCTV pretty much the whole time anyway!”
Youngsters aged 16 to 24 across London can now apply for the cards, which cost £30. For more information visit direct.gov.uk/idsmart or call 0300 330 0000.
Comments(11)
Leckie
says...
5:17pm Mon 8 Feb 10
Carrying a card in a wallet is far easier than carrying a passport. **** sight cheaper than paying the £120+ for their one day service as well.
britling
says...
4:27am Tue 9 Feb 10
2) Mr Fawcett has already paid over 60 or 70 pounds for a full travel document, so he didn't need the card; unless he plans never to leave the EU, he will have to continue to pay for a passport too.
3) Why did Mr Fawcett carry his passport around with him anyway? Unless you are challenged on buying alcohol or on a nightclub door, you rarely need it; hardly a daily occurrence. Opening bank accounts requires extra ID in any case.
4) Mr Fawcett produces the "you've got nothing to hide" argument, with its tired premise that anyone who opposes extensive databasing of the population is likely to be a wrongdoer, and that no-one has a right to privacy. If you've nothing to hide, you've nothing to prove either.
5) The passport service does not hold as much information as the ID card database, which includes more categories of data about you. The government also eserves the right to fine you up to £1000 if you decline to update your details.
6) You can hand back the card or opt out of having one but you cannot edit, opt out from or remove your information from the database... ever. That information can also be hacked, stolen, traded or lost, as has happened with other government databases.
7) CCTV cameras capture the public on video but do not automatically link their movements to their identities; you are also free to cover your face, take a different route or accept cameras in the knowledge that you are just another anonymous face in the crowd, unlike people on the ID database.
Katie Rolt
says...
10:11am Tue 9 Feb 10
karola
says...
10:29am Tue 9 Feb 10
Earle Martin
says...
2:53pm Tue 9 Feb 10
I can't believe he actually said that!!!
NoSleepTillBedtime
says...
3:49pm Tue 9 Feb 10
Ah well I guess you had to censor it, as it would be a bit embarrassing since he did have something to hide after all.
In general as I stated if you already have a passport and only need to prove your age there are a number of alternatives both cheaper and less intrusive than an ID card.
rocksushi
says...
7:48pm Tue 9 Feb 10
nobunaga
says...
8:42pm Tue 9 Feb 10
not keeping the govermen informed if you details change or if not reporting the card being lost or stolen..
Plus there may be a charge for
registering every change of address
(foreign nationals have to pay
30 pounds if they have an ID card if memory serves)
Also if he really his going to Europe
he has better take his passport with
him if this is anything to go by
http://www.theregist
er.co.uk/2009/12/23/
id_card_travel_confu
sion/
Leckie
says...
9:44pm Tue 9 Feb 10
NoSleepTillBedtime
says...
10:05am Wed 17 Feb 10
When somebody decides to stand up in the media (any media) and become the posterboy for a deranged policy then yes, I think it is entirely relevant to link to examples where the same individual has made statements that directly contradict his present ones; and yes it is entirely fair to put the individual's reasoned comments regarding "nothing to hide, nothing to fear" in a little context.
Revenge however is a little far fetched - revenge for what? If anything, I feel a little pity for him as it's likely he was not aware of the strings attached to an ID card. Hopefully thanks to our comments, since the article was the usual one-sided piece others now will be, no need to thank me.
I found this article via a separate blog article on ID which contained the link to youTube, I actually referenced this in my original post which was deleted. As you probably guessed, the ID card issue is a big thing to me so I thought I'd follow the links back and share, all in all this is considered quite common practice on the internet I thought.
On-topic, the card is being rolled out nationally and as as such is of national interest, should we all wait until it is trialled or forced on our local areas to make comments?
I apologise if I have offended by trespassing outside my immediate area, but I was not previously aware Waltham Forest had it's own internet.
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Peter Fawcett, 21, from Wanstead is the first person in London to apply for a national ID card for 16-24 year-olds.
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patriciag says...
4:24pm Mon 8 Feb 10
Hopefully he will be the only one conned into signing up for this flagrant assault on our personal liberty.
"I will be travelling to Holland next month and the convenience of taking the credit card-sized ID card with me in my wallet for use as a travel document far outweighs taking my passport with me. "
In what way is this more convenient?