Barcode Nation

There’s an interesting post over at the Expat Focus blog on the experience of British people living in countries where carrying ID is mandatory.
 

Even in EU countries some police officers view it as suspicious and then you have two things going against you - firstly you’re a foreigner and secondly a foreigner without identity! The [...]

Leading transsexual activists have criticised the government’s plans for identity cards. 
 
Gender Spectrum UK has launched an online petition aimed at ensuring the safety of people “who present themselves in a manner which is not the same as the gender to which they were assigned at birth.”

Current proposals will allow those undergoing treatment to change their [...]

The family of illegal immigrants busted last year for running a fake passport factory in London have been jailed.
 
The police haul included 60 blank Spanish passports, 150 Portuguese passports, 32 Italian passports, 200 blank Portuguese identity cards, 150 UK national insurance cards, £1,400 in cash and a variety of forged utility bills.

The ringleader received a five-and-a-half year [...]

Techno-bible The Register has published an excellent detailed guide to removing your details from the Police DNA database. This follows the European Court ruling that the retention of the DNA of innocent people is illegal.
If anyone attempts this please let us know how you get on.