International Law

Sir Joseph Pilling appointed as National Identity Scheme Commissioner - how can a former Whitehall "Sir Humphrey" be "independent" of the Home Office ?

The Home Office Identity and Passport Service has announced:

Home Secretary appoints first Identity Commissioner

14 September 2009

The first Identity Commissioner, Sir Joseph Pilling, was confirmed today by the Home Secretary Alan Johnson.

The first Identity Commissioner, Sir Joseph Pilling, was confirmed today by the Home Secretary Alan Johnson. He will take up his appointment on 1 October 2009 in time for the issue of the first identity cards to people in Greater Manchester.

The new Identity Commissioner will act independently and on behalf of the public to ensure that information held on the National Identity Register is accurate and secure as well as monitoring the use identity cards are put to by both public and private sectors.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said:

"I am pleased to announce the appointment of Sir Joseph Pilling as the first Identity Commissioner.

"The public has the right to expect the National Identity Service to be run to the highest standards. The Identity Commissioner will champion their interests, providing a strong and independent voice, holding the Identity and Passport Service to account and ensuring information collected under the Service is kept securely.

"He will also deliver independent scrutiny of the uses to which identity cards are put by public authorities and private organisations."

Sir Joseph Pilling said:

"I am delighted to accept this post, and plan to be an independent voice in my work towards safeguarding the public's privacy and identity rights, as Parliament intended.

"In the early weeks and months as I work out how best to do the job I intend to listen to the people across the National Identity Service and to people outside the system with views about my new role."

A test of how "independent" of the Home Office he really is, will be how long he delays meeting with the NO2ID Campaign and everyone else who is opposed to this National Identity Register scheme.

The Identity Commissioner will report to the Home Secretary at least annually on the way the National Identity Service functions are carried out and the report will be laid before Parliament.

All government departments will have a statutory duty to provide whatever information the Commissioner and his staff need to carry out investigations and the Commissioner will have the resources he requires in order to carry out his functions.

The Identity Cards Act 2006 sections 22 and 23 cripple the role of the National Identity Scheme Commissioner. He only reports annually to to the Home Secretary, who can censor this report, especially if the Home Office is criticised, just like the feeble Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act Commissioners' Annual Reports, and unlike,even the weak and ineffective Information Commissioner, who reports directly to Parliament.

The NIS Commissioner has no power, or budget, to investigate complaints from the general public.

He has no legal sanctions to deploy against the NIS bureaucracy or their private sector sub-contractors when, not if, they cock things up or mistreat members of the public.

The Church Times seems to have a photo of Sir Joseph Pilling:

Full post as published by Spy Blog on September 14, 2009 (boomark / email).