MSP DEMANDS THAT SCOTTISH STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE USED AS ‘BIOMETRIC GUINEA PIGS’

Banff & Buchan MSP Stewart Stevenson, along with other Scottish National Party politicians, is demanding assurances that ID cards will not be introduced by the back door.Mr Stevenson’s comments come after the SNP questioned Scottish Secretary, Des Browne, on the issue. The questioning highlighted the widely held concerns of Scots over the government's proposals for ID Cards. In his response the Scottish Secretary failed to dismiss concerns over the cost of the proposals, the effectiveness of the proposals or whether Scottish students could be used as "biometric guinea pigs".

Commenting Mr Stevenson said:

"A large number of students have voiced their concerns against the possibility of being forced into adopting biometric ID and not only is the government insisting on pressing ahead with this policy but have not denied that they may be considering trialling out the system using Scottish students.

"The Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament have made clear that ID cards are unwanted and will certainly not be required for devolved services. UK Ministers should respect that, and Scottish students must not be forced into taking ID cards by stealth.

"It seems students have particularly been targeted by the UK Government, and they must not be compelled into taking ID cards for securing bank accounts or student loans.

"The loss of personal data from various UK Government departments, and the fact that experts tell us that that ID cards will do nothing to improve security, underlines exactly why people are against the introduction of an ID card scheme.

"Scottish students must not be used as biometric guinea pigs for a system that experts do not believe will work. We are mistrustful of central government agencies based in Westminster having mass sums of data for no adequate reason. While Gordon Brown might be keen on a big brother state, it is something that is not supported by myself, the people of Banff & Buchan or the SNP Government and we will be contesting any attempts at every stage.”