Britons 'back biometric database'
Thursday, 13 Sep 2007 00:01
Fingerprints could be the way forward for identity verification
The majority of Britons are prepared to surrender their fingerprints and iris identities to a central government database in order to fight crime, a survey suggests.
Research from personal identity advisors CPP found that 80 per cent of the 3,000 UK adults questioned would rather swap chip-and-pin identity verification with biometric methods to boost the security of their everyday transactions.
Seven out of ten said they supported rolling out the use of biometric data for anti-terrorism measures at Britain's airports, but just ten per cent said they were willing to pay to make the improvement.
"People are clearly aware of the need to tackle issues such as identity fraud and terrorism in the UK, and in principle, are behind biometrics or something that will solve these modern problems," CPP Identity Protection spokesperson Danny Harrison said.
"There are, however, concerns around how biometrics will work in the real world and some fundamental questions that need answering around issues of privacy, data protection, hygiene and cost."
The government announced in May that the estimated cost of its controversial identity cards scheme cost had risen from £4.91 billion in October 2006 to £5.42 billion.
Opposition parties accused the government of attempting to "bury" the bad news by releasing it at the same time as former prime minister Tony Blair's resignation from Downing Street.