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Former civil servant appointed as first Identity Commissioner


A watchdog has been appointed to monitor the Government's National Identity Register, the database which will contain personal details of UK citizens and form the basis for any future ID cards.

The appointment of former civil servant Sir Joseph Pilling as the first Identity Commissioner was confirmed by the Home Office today.

His duties will be to oversee the database and ensure that it is accurate and secure. He will also monitor the Government's and the private sector's use of the database and of any ID cards linked to it.

He will take up office on 1st October in time for the issuing of the first ID cards to people in Greater Manchester, the Home Office said.

"The public has the right to expect the National Identity Service to be run to the highest standards," said Home Secretary Alan Johnson. "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," he said.

Pilling will report once a year directly to the Home Secretary. The report will be laid before Parliament.

Government departments will be required by law to provide Pilling with "whatever information the Commissioner and his staff need to carry out investigations", a Home Office statement said.

“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," said Pilling. "[I] plan to be an independent voice in my work towards safeguarding the public’s privacy and identity rights, as Parliament intended."

Pilling will not oversee the ID card rights of foreign nationals. That oversight is carried out by the Information Commissioner and the Chief Inspector for the UK Border Agency.

Pilling was the most senior civil servant at the Northern Ireland Office from 1997 to 2005.

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