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Scots jump on board UK biometric ID card trial
Testing starts in Glasgow…

By Andy McCue

Published: Friday 21 May 2004

The UK government's biometric ID card trial is gathering momentum with Glasgow the latest city to go live with iris, fingerprint and facial recognition testing.

The nationwide trial aims to enrol 10,000 volunteers around the UK who will have their biometric details recorded and put on a chip in a mock smart card. Testing started in April in London and will run through until August.

Glasgow now joins London, Leicester and Newcastle in the project and a mobile unit will travel around other parts of the country including Wales and the Home Counties.

The Scottish trial is taking place at the Glasgow Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) office and was launched by Home Office minister Des Browne.

The project has been hit by some teething problems in pre-trial tests, which highlighted defects in collecting and reading some of the biometric data.

Civil liberties and privacy groups this week also formed an alliance in opposition to the introduction of ID cards to the UK.

But the government claims the cards will help fight crime, illegal immigration, fraud and terrorism. Browne said in a statement: "This is an ambitious, long-term project, and it is essential that we get the technology right. The trial site being launched in Glasgow today is a vital part of this, laying the foundations for a robust and effective national identity card scheme."

The recruitment of volunteers is being managed by Mori and the technical delivery is being done by Atos Origin.