...that read "ICO warns" and got a mental image of a dude in a helmet and a fidgety little girl scolding Gordon Brown?

Must. Reduce. Gaming.

The gap between privacy and IDcard schemes has been solved. It will take a few months before these people are going to market, but it's underway.

I think Q4 of this year is going to be very interesting for people handling identity questions...

Looks like you answered your own question there, Greg!

I reckon part of the trouble is that people in government aren't actually aware of the issues involved, due in part to their sole job experience being that of politician.

Hence when it comes to (e.g.) road pricing, the only thing they think will work is a box which records where you as an individual have been, as opposed to an anonymous/zero knowledge payment system that merely requires you to pay without identifying you or allowing your movements to be tracked from a database.

"The gap between privacy and IDcard schemes has been solved. It will take a few months before these people are going to market, but it's underway."

Pray tell how.......... or is it subject to patent considerations before everything else? It had better be original and innovative to have any chance of success.

As usual, the politicians just have to present the information. It isn't they who research the issue and offer the options, and those that do have a variety of vested interests for various reasons: the solution providers, whether they have a working solution or not, to keep their shareholders happy; the police, who have been so hypnotised by automation that they would like to apply it to all areas of their duty, and the unelected civil servants who want access to that data without the inconvenience of having to justify it to the public. In the meantime we are watched, gathered, sorted and filed in ways that we are not aware of, 'just in case'. Privacy has become an obstacle to be overcome to achieve ends, and one that just needs the occasional explosion to justify its circumnavigation.

but you can check out our solution here:

http://www.fullmoon.nu/book/side_issues/IdentityCards.htm