The debate surrounding biometric ID cards is sure to intensify following the second proposal by the government today. Home Secretary Charles Clarke asserts that the new Identity Cards Bill is more stringent than the previous one, meeting the five quality tests for an ID card laid down by the Tories.

Clarke contends that the techonology employed in the proposed card is reliable and secure. This has been given short shrift by both politicians and IT experts. The Conservatives in particular have expressed doubts about the development of the biometric database, in which identity profiles will be stored and managed.

The doubters may have a point, if the performance of the Directgov search engine is anything to go by. The bizarre results that are returned by Directgov’s tailored serach engine pale in comparison to those from Google. If an expensive search engine created for web access to government services fails to operate intuitively, what hope is there for an efficient and secure biometric register for all UK citizens? This is particularly apposite when one considers that the government’s apparent rationale for ID cards is to combat identity fraud and terrorism whilst protecting civil liberties.

Questions will doubtless be raised concerning who will build and manage the database, and who will have access when matching a stored profile on an ID card. Further concerns over the reliability of iris scanning and fingerprint scanning will also need to be addressed. To this end, expect the Identity Cards Bill to reach a third version, and perhaps beyond.