ID cards attacked as scans runs into trouble

Johnston Press

Passengers face massive delays at airports because of problems with new iris-recognition equipment, a Tory MP claimed yesterday.

Ben Wallace said an official report on trials of the technology showed it had failed half of its assessments.

And he said it was further proof that Government plans to introduce ID cards were “running off the tracks” and could prove unworkable.

But the Home Office said the initial problems had been dealt with and the system – - now in operation at several major airports, including Manchester – was a success.
Thousands more members of the public had signed up than expected, a spokeswoman said, and iris recognition remained “an option” for ID cards.

Mr Wallace said: “The pilot failed half its assessments: it wasn’t available when it was needed at the right level; when the system crashed, it took over eight hours to fix.
“Iris recognition is one of the main planks of the biometrics the Government said made their ID scheme foolproof.

“In an answer to me, the minister said that iris recognition had been chosen as a biometric because it outperformed all others. In this case, it doesn’t.”

Last month Home Secretary John Reid dropped plans for a massive single database to hold records for the national identity card scheme. Three existing systems will be used instead to keep costs down.
Mr Wallace said: “This scheme is certainly running off the tracks and, at worst, is becoming unworkable.”

Passengers would pay the price for the lack of “proper rigorous testing”, he said. “Millions of people are going to arrive at Heathrow and wait in a queue because the system has crashed for over eight hours.”

The Home Office spokeswoman said the Government remained committed to the use of biometrics for ID cards such as fingerprints and facial images.
Iris scans remain an option.

She conceded that there had been problems but said the point of conducting trials was to identify such issues.