History > 2006 > UK > Politics > Home Office
 

4pm update

ID card plan sparks

fears over data security

Tuesday December 19, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
Matthew Tempest and agencies

The computer database behind the government's controversial ID card scheme will be an amalgamation of existing IT networks, rather then one built from scratch, John Reid announced today.

But he insisted that this did not amount to a U-turn.

Originally, the record system, known as the national identity register, was to have been entirely newly-built, in order to avoid contamination from errors in existing database files on individuals.

But, in a 33-page progress report on the timetable for an identity card scheme, the home secretary revealed that instead the database would be compiled from amalgamated information from three separate Whitehall databases.

The information will be split between computers at the Department for Work and Pensions, the Home Office and the immigration and passport service.

Mr Reid said: "Doing something sensible is not necessarily a U-turn.

"We have decided it is lower risk, more efficient and faster to take the infrastructure that already exists, although the data will be drawn from other sources."

The "action plan" announced today would also see the creation next year of 69 regional offices for citizens to supply their biometric and iris details.

Some of these could be provided by the private sector, the Home Office document suggests.

Despite claims from critics that the bill for ID cards will balloon to £20bn eventually, today's report insists that the costs over the next decade will only be £5.4bn.

However, new costings will be placed before parliament next April, and updated regularly thereafter.

The plan also suggests that the ID card itself, which will initially be manufactured in-house by the Home Office, should be compatible with chip-and-pin technology, and that the database will not be connected directly to the internet, to prevent hacking.

Any interference with the database will carry a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

An independent commissioner will report back to the home secretary and to parliament on the implementation and any abuses of the NIR.

The piecemeal implementation of a national ID card scheme is unaltered by the action plan, although the report is hedged with provisos and caveats.

The foreword admits that the scheme "will evolve over time", and that "we shall adjust the details of this action plan as required by experience".

New primary legislation would be required to make carrying an identity card compulsory, but at present the timetable will see some foreign nationals required to register for biometric details next year, the first "voluntary" ID cards issued alongside passports from 2009.

Concurrent with the action plan, Mr Reid also announced proposals to force foreigners already in the UK to register their biometrics, such as fingerprints and iris scans.

"We are going to look at how we could do it for people who are already here," he said.

The immigration minister, Liam Byrne, said that a consultation paper would be published in the new year.

Mr Reid said that today's action plan was "the starting gun for the national identity scheme". He insisted that it would be a "critical national investment" for the UK.

It would help secure Britain's borders and tackle illegal immigration, reduce fraud, fight crime and terrorism, and improve protection for children and for other vulnerable people by providing a secure means of identification, he said.

The home secretary said: "No one who opposes introduction of identity management can truly claim to treat these subjects as seriously as they claim to do."

But critics have pointed out that the rationale behind the ID card scheme - which is opposed by both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats - has expanded from anti-terrorism to cover identity theft, fraud, benefits provision and healthcare.

David Davis, the shadow home secretary, called the scheme an "expensive white elephant" that risked making Britain less safe.

He said: "The use of existing databases is an admission of what will turn out to be a financial disaster for the taxpayer, with a cost overrun of billions of pounds due to badly designed, costly systems.

"The fact Dr. Reid has tried to sneak this announcement out in a written statement that is not subject to scrutiny betrays just how fragile the government's confidence in their own scheme actually is."

"What we now have is a designer database targeted solely at those who obey the law. Illegal immigrants will not turn up to apply for visas and submit their biometrics.

"Terrorists stopped in the street will not be carrying ID cards and are highly unlikely to pop into the police station the next day with their papers.

Phil Booth, the national coordinator of the NO2ID campaign group, said: "This is pretty appalling. Rather than a single, highly-secure database that David Blunkett and Charles Clarke promised the nation, the Home Office is now saying we are simply going to designate people's data which is mixed in with other data."

He also claimed that children as young as 11 will have to be fingerprinted and have their irises read for the scheme.

The Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, Nick Clegg, said: "These are sticking plaster measures in which the government is cutting corners to make the increasingly unpopular ID card scheme more palatable.

"The fact remains that however much John Reid rearranges the deckchairs, ID cards are doomed to be unacceptably expensive, intrusive and unmanageable."

    ID card plan sparks fears over data security, G, 19.12.2006, http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,1975292,00.html

1.15pm

More planes 'of interest'

in Litvinenko case

Thursday November 30, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
Mark Oliver and Matthew Tempest

Two more aircraft are "of interest" to the investigation into the death of the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, the home secretary revealed today.

One of the aircraft, leased by the Russian airline Transaero, landed at Heathrow terminal one after arriving from Moscow at 11.15am today, John Reid said. The passengers' details had been collected.

Mr Reid announced the new details in a Commons statement on the progress of the investigation, which is now linked to at least five planes, including two British Airways aircraft on which small traces of radiation were found.

The home secretary said the Russian plane, now on British soil, would be subject to whatever investigation was necessary. "Of course, if it is necessary to use the powers that are conferred on the police for access ... to planes in this country, then the police would be prepared to exercise that power on their own judgment," he said.

However, he also stressed that the Russian authorities "up to the highest levels" had given assurances of cooperation.

In later questioning by MPs, Mr Reid revealed the British authorities were interested in tracing a fifth plane. "There is one other Russian plane we know of that we think we would be interested in," he told the Commons, but did not give any further details.

Last night, it emerged that small traces of radiation had been found on two BA Boeing 767s, which are being examined at Heathrow.

A third BA B767 linked to the inquiry is currently at an airport in Moscow, and Mr Reid today said it would remain grounded while the airline and the government discussed what should happen to it next.

The home secretary insisted there was a "very low risk indeed" of any health problems to the general public.

He said a total of 24 locations had been examined as part of the Litvinenko inquiry, and that traces of radiation were discovered at 12 of them. Around 33,000 passengers have travelled in the BA planes linked to the inquiry since late October.

Mr Litvenenko, a fierce critic of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, began to feel unwell on November 1. He had met a number of people, including two Russian contacts, earlier that day.

He died last Thursday, and although police have described the death as suspicious, they have not launched a murder inquiry.

In other developments, an inquest into the death of the 43-year-old was formally opened and adjourned today to allow detectives to carry out further inquiries into his apparent poisoning.

The London inner north coroner, Dr Andrew Reid, said it appeared that Mr Litvinenko had been "exposed to a radioactive substance or isotope known as polonium 210".

Sitting at St Pancras coroner's court, Dr Reid confirmed the post mortem on Mr Litvinenko would take place at the Royal London hospital in the presence of an independent pathologist tomorrow.

    More planes 'of interest' in Litvinenko case, G, 30.11.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,1960854,00.html

Home Office admits tagged offenders guilty of 1,000 serious crimes

· Killings and assaults by criminals freed early
· Public being put at risk, say Tories and Lib Dems

Thursday October 12, 2006
Guardian
David Hencke, Westminster correspondent

More than 1,000 serious crimes have been committed by offenders released early from jail on electronic tags monitored by private companies, the Home Office reveals today.

There has been one murder, four manslaughters, 56 woundings and more than 700 assaults over the past six years since home detention curfew was introduced in 1999. There were also 100 cases of possessing an offensive weapon, one incident of causing death by reckless driving, 100 of obstructing a police officer and 16 other violent attacks. Details were released as part of an investigation by the Commons public accounts committee.

The review is the first proper audit of the tagging system as a way of monitoring the behaviour of offenders no longer deemed a danger to the public. Tagging was also a cost-cutting move that helped free prison places. Among other findings, the review found 60% of prisons do not have direct access to the police national computer to check an inmate's previous convictions. Governors receive no feedback from the Home Office on whether early release or tagging has worked.

The details were released to Richard Bacon, Conservative MP for Norfolk South and Helen Goodman, Labour MP for Bishop Auckland. Mr Bacon said: "The first duty of a prison governor is to safeguard the public but over 1,000 offenders have committed violent crimes whilst on home detention curfew ... if governors are to protect the public properly the Home Office cannot leave them in the dark. As a matter of routine the Home Office must tell governors whether their decisions to release offenders under home detention curfew have worked."

Conservative and Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesmen said the public were being put at risk. David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "This report raises serious issues about the way tagging is being used. With so many serious offences being committed it is clear the government is showing a shocking disregard for public safety.

"It is disgraceful that this government is happy to put people who are clearly unsuitable for tagging right at the heart of our communities resulting in over 1,000 violent offences, including five deaths.

"While tagging may have a useful role to play, it is vitally dependent on careful selection of the people who are tagged. If it is merely used as a means for the government to combat their prison overcrowding crisis no one wins: the victim gets no justice, the public get no protection, the offender gets no rehabilitation and the whole scheme is undermined."

Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: "Once again, flaws in the system can be laid squarely at the government's feet for failing to implement the system competently in practice."

The report also revealed that two people wrongly suspected of removing their tags received £8,100 compensation from the Home Office for being sent back to jail.

Private companies running the tagging service said that the financial savings to taxpayers - £70 a day - made it good value for money despite the risk of re-offending. Tom Riall, chief executive of Serco Home Affairs, said: "I am delighted the PAC has recognised the value of electronic monitoring. The latest contracts with the Home Office delivered a 40% cost saving to the taxpayer through new technology and better service design."

The Home Office is evaluating pilot schemes using satellite monitoring to track tagged convicts, including sex offenders, so they can be re-arrested if they are found near exclusion zones set up to protect children.

Home Office minister Gerry Sutcliffe said: "Of the 130,000 low-risk offenders who have been released on home detention curfew since its inception in January 1999 less than 4% have re-offended. This compares with a figure of 67.4% re-offending rate for all prisoners released from prison within two years. We are not complacent however, and any offence committed is one too many."

    Home Office admits tagged offenders guilty of 1,000 serious crimes, G, 12.10.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1920155,00.html

3.15pm update

Home Office reveals £5.4bn cost of ID cards

Monday October 9, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
Agencies

The national identity card scheme will cost £5.4bn to set up and run over the next decade, the Home Office said in the first detailed estimate of the cost of the project today.

A costing document said the estimate included all set-up costs as well as the price of operating and maintaining the infrastructure until October 2016. Officials stressed the figures were "likely costs" and "estimates".

Research by the London School of Economics last year - dismissed by ministers - said the implementation and running costs of the controversial project could be as high as £19.2bn over the first 10 years of the project.

Around 70% of the £5.4bn would go on issuing a new generation of biometric passports, the precursors to the ID cards themselves, and around 15% on technology required for the project, the Home Office said.

The estimate excludes some set-up costs covered in a Home Office report last May that put the annual total at £584m, or £5.8bn over a decade.

However, the 13-page document released today identified a separate potential cost saving in the future - the end of the 10-yearly national census.

The ID card database "would provide the basis for much more accurate statistical analysis and policy-making by creating a standard population register, removing the need for a full census (which cost £207m in 2001), providing better 'real time' data on population changes," the document said.

Under current plans, anyone applying for a passport from 2008 will have biometric details, such as fingerprints or eye scans, taken for a national identity register, although they will be able to opt out of getting an ID card.

From 2010, however, anyone applying for or renewing a passport must also receive an ID card.

The government has pledged to introduce future legislation making the cards compulsory for everyone, whether they have a passport or not.

The Home Office minister, Liam Byrne, today said the cards would be "implemented rapidly", beginning with biometric cards for foreign nationals in 2008.

"ID cards will give us a powerful tool to combat identity fraud which underpins organised crime, terrorism and abuse of the immigration system," he said in a speech to the Institute of Public Policy Research thinktank.

"[They] will also help transform the delivery of public services to the citizen, making interactions swifter, more reliable and more secure and helping to reduce costs by eliminating wasteful duplication of effort."

He said the cards would also be useful in cracking down on illegal work. "Any employer would be able to check a person's unique reference number against registered information about their identity to find out whether someone is eligible to work in the UK," he added.

The scheme has been heavily criticised by opposition parties and civil liberties groups, who argue that ID cards - not used in Britain since shortly after the second world war - are unnecessary and of little use in combating terrorism, especially if terrorists are British nationals with no previous criminal records.

Shami Chakrabarti, the director of Liberty, described the system as a "white elephant as dangerous to our privacy as our purses".

"Excuses for ID cards are like a many-headed hydra - shoot one down and another one pops up," she said today.

In August, the House of Commons science and technology committee said there was also confusion over what the scheme would entail and how personal data would be used in different circumstances.

MPs were "sceptical" about the estimated annual running costs of £584m, describing the figure as "driven by political imperatives".

    Home Office reveals £5.4bn cost of ID cards, G, 9.10.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/idcards/story/0,,1891248,00.html

1.15pm

Reid pledges crackdown on extremists

Thursday September 28, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
Matthew Tempest, political correspondent

John Reid laid down a marker for the Labour party leadership vacancy today with an enthusiastically received speech pledging a hardline crackdown on Islamist extremism, terrorism and crime.

The prime minister, Tony Blair, led a standing ovation from the platform, which saw three-quarters of delegates in the G-Mex centre in Manchester rise to their feet. The chancellor, Gordon Brown, was not in the hall for the speech.

Mr Reid revealed that in the wake of the August alleged airline plot, the PM and he had agreed a "stepchange" review of Britain's counter-terrorism measures, promising a "seamless coordinated approach to the now seamless threat".

Without specifying details, he promised to put in place: "the concept, doctrine, laws and capabilities for a challenge we expect will last a generation."

As well as outlining several new measures likely to form the centrepiece of this autumn's Queen's speech, Mr Reid strayed from his home affairs brief and launched a blistering attack on David Cameron for being unable to take decisions.

Mr Reid finished ambiguously by declaring that "leadership is not a zero-sum game. When one of us shines it doesn't diminish the others, it reflects on all of us."

After Alan Johnson's speech received only a lukewarm reception yesterday, Mr Reid has become the focus of the "anyone but Gordon" forces in the party - and in the media.

The home secretary said: "When one of us succeeds, the others don't fail. We share in that success.

"Now as Tony Blair leaves us we all need that unity of purpose and common endeavour more than ever before."

The home secretary - who has had a succession of cabinet posts - promised new measures on forced marriages, employers exploiting illegal immigrants and migration.

He suggested making violent criminals liable for the medical costs of their victims and promised a "community payback scheme" to make them rectify the damage they did to society.

He also suggested reducing the NHS's need for doctors and nurses from the developing world - which went down well with the party faithful.

But it was his performance and coded words as a possible challenger to Mr Brown that will be most studied.

At one point the home secretary made a glancing reference to his own previous alcoholism, telling the audience: "We all face our own demons."

In an impassioned and witty speech, he joked that Roy Hattersley had written he would shoot himself if Mr Reid became leader - until then, "I hadn't been able to see any advantages in standing" he said.

Repeating his pledge that there could be no "no go areas" in Britain after his recent showdown in east London, he said he would not be "brow-beaten" by extremist "bullies".

His visit to Waltham Forest was his first, but would not be his last, as he insisted there would be "no compromise with terrorism".

He said his wish list for the party was very short - a fourth term of a Labour government.

"If we in this movement are going to ask the decent, silent majority of Muslim men and women to have the courage to face down the extremist bullies, then we need to have the courage and character to stand shoulder to shoulder with them doing it.

"So when the terrorists or their loudmouth advocates of terrorist sympathisers tell me that we won't be allowed to raise our arguments in this or that part of the community, my answer is simple:

" 'Yes we will. This is Britain. There are, and will be, no no-go areas in our country for any of our people, whatever their background, colour or creed. We will go wherever we please, we will discuss what we like and we will never be brow beaten by bullies.' That's what it means to be British," he said.

To applause, he went on: "And let's be clear. It cannot be right that the rights of individual suspected terrorist be placed above the rights, life and limb of the British people. It's wrong. Full stop. No ifs, no buts. It's just plain wrong."

He quoted Nye Bevin and said his puporse was to "reduce fear".

In addition to suggesting the "community payback scheme" and "returning" to the issue of forced marriages, he announced the establishment of an independent migration advisory service, to "advise on how migration should be managed to the benefit of the country as a whole".

He attacked David Cameron, saying the Tory leader "has not been in the post long", but "he has to be capable of making some decisions".

"David Cameron may find that those who wait too long too see which way the wind is blowing, get blown away by the gale. I recommend he starts making some decisions.

"The Tories end up talking tough, voting soft and hoping no-one will notice."

He added: "It's all too difficult, too controversial. Actually it's because they are too lacking in leadership."

Mr Reid's speech, which lasted 40 minutes, was the penultimate event of the 2006 Labour conference, ahead of the departing address by the deputy leader John Prescott.

Following his speech, bookmakers William Hill promoted Mr Reid to 7/2 second favourite for the party leadership from 6/1.

Hills have lengthened Gordon Brown from 2/7 to 4/11 favourite, with Mr Johnson now third favourite at 4/1.

    Reid pledges crackdown on extremists, G, 28.9.2006, http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labourconference2006/story/0,,1883195,00.html

Defiant Reid clashes with Islamist radicals

· Home secretary warns parents of brainwash risk
· Idea of spying on children denounced as farcical

Thursday September 21, 2006
Guardian
Alan Travis, home affairs editor

The home secretary yesterday clashed with two Islamist radicals when he met the east London Muslim community to urge it to tackle extremism. John Reid compared it to the time when he became the first British minister to visit the Irish republican enclave of Short Strand in east Belfast: "Believe it or not I have actually enjoyed it."

But it was not a feeling shared by some of the Muslim leaders in Waltham Forest who have been running a "250,000 people - one community" campaign to repair the damage caused by the fact that many of those charged with last month's alleged airline plot came from the area.

Mr Reid had gone to Leyton county cricket ground to warn Muslim parents that "fanatics are looking to groom and brainwash your children for suicide bombing" and tell them to "look for the telltale signs" or risk losing them for ever.

The warning, which had been trailed in tabloid newspapers, had sparked protests even before he got to his feet with Ahmed Versi, the editor of the Muslim News, saying it was farcical for him to ask parents to spy on their children and report them to the anti-terrorist police.

But Mr Reid was unrepentant: "I know it's not easy. I'm a parent with two boys and I know how hard it is to raise children and to know everything about them ... But there are some circumstances when we need to intervene. There is no nice way of saying this but there are fanatics looking to groom and brainwash children, including your children for suicide bombing. Grooming them to kill themselves in order to murder others."

When the home secretary described 9/11, 7/7 in London and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as battles between modern and fanatical values in Islam, it provoked some of the 30-strong audience. Abu Izzadeen, in white flowing robes, interrupted him: "How dare you come to a Muslim area when over 1,000 Muslims have been arrested?" Mr Reid was a tyrant and an enemy of Islam. When Muslim women told him it was a "time for dialogue" he told them to "be quiet" before being ushered out by stewards and police.

Mr Reid resumed his speech, saying: "However sensitive these issues, we must never allow ourselves to be shouted down. I should be able to go to any part of Britain and discuss these matters."

A second protester held signs saying "John Reid Go to Hell" and "Home Office = Terrorist Office" before Anjem Choudary interrupted a question and answer session to tell the home secretary that Muslims did not need British values. "We believe Islam is superior, we believe Islam will be implemented one day. It is very rich for you to come here and say we need to monitor our children when your government is murdering people in Iraq and Afghanistan." He too was ushered out.

The Home Office said the audience had been invited by the council and it was an open community meeting which others could attend. There had been no security threat. Mr Reid heard complaints about discriminatory stop and search, the effect of foreign policy, the Pope's remarks about Islam, and the danger of racial profiling. He responded by saying that in his communist youth, the US would not allow him a visa to move outside any airport.

    Defiant Reid clashes with Islamist radicals, G, 21.9.2006, http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1877308,00.html

12.45pm

Reid barracked during speech to Muslim parents

Wednesday September 20, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
David Batty and agencies

The home secretary, John Reid, was today heckled by protesters during a speech in east London in which he urged Muslim parents to monitor their children.

The first protester shouted that Muslims were being subjected to "state terrorism by the British police", with his comments coming as Mr Reid called on Muslim parents to keep a close watch on their children to prevent them from being radicalised by Islamist extremists.

Abu Izadeen, previously known as Trevor Brooks, is a Muslim convert from east London. He accused the home secretary of being an "enemy" of Islam.

Mr Izadeen, a member of the banned al-Ghurabaa group - a successor to Omar Bakri Mohammed's al-Muhajiroun group - was led from the building by police and stewards.

A second protester was ejected a few minutes later after also interrupting Mr Reid's speech. He emerged from the venue clutching several posters, one of which said: "John Reid, you will pay!"

Mr Reid denied that efforts to tackle Islamist terrorism amounted to a war against Islam, saying: "It is a struggle against extremism, against intolerance, against terror."

Insisting that Britain and Islam had many common values, the home secretary said: "Our fight is with those who do not share our values."

He said the battle against extremism was not a conflict of religion but one between terrorists and most modern civilised societies, and added that many Muslims had been victims of terrorism.

Mr Reid said fanatics were looking to groom and brainwash Muslim children for suicide bombing, urging the audience to be vigilant against the "telltale signs" of brainwashing in their children.

"Look for the telltale signs now and talk to them before their hatred grows and you risk losing them forever," he said. "In protecting our families, we are protecting our community."

Relations between the government and parts of the Muslim community have been strained in recent years by the unpopular invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and the July 7 London bombings.

The London attacks, in which 52 commuters were killed, heightened concerns about radicalisation within Britain's 1.6 million-strong Muslim community.

Many Muslims feel they are unfairly targets of suspicion and are bearing the brunt of the government's tough new anti-terror measures.

Several high-profile anti-terror operations - particularly a June raid on a house in east London in which a man was shot and wounded - have increased tensions. The man and his brother were later released without charge.

Seventeen British Muslims arrested last month have been charged in connection with an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic jets in mid-air.

    Reid barracked during speech to Muslim parents, G, 20.9.2006, http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,1876868,00.html

Reid warns judges not to block Iraqis' deportation

Tuesday September 5, 2006
Guardian
Alan Travis, home affairs editor

John Reid will sanction the forced removal of up to 32 Iraqis today after telling the high court he would ignore any last-minute legal challenge to their deportation. The Guardian has learned that the home secretary has told the high court that today's specially chartered flight will not be stopped by anything short of an injunction.

Last November, an attempt to deport more than 70 Iraqi Kurds ended with just 20 going home because of a host of last-ditch legal applications. Mr Reid has since decided to take a tougher stance and told the high court today's flight would go ahead regardless of any legal applications.

This is despite the Foreign Office issuing advice against all travel to Baghdad and all but essential travel to Iraq, which suggests there can be no guarantee for the safety of those being sent back.

In a letter to the duty high court judge sent on August 31, the Home Office says: "Because of the complexities, practicalities and costs involved in arranging such charters, it is essential that these removals are not disrupted or delayed by large numbers of last-minute claims for permission to seek judicial review.

"To ensure the viability of this operation and in line with enforcement operational instructions, the Home Office may decide not to defer removal in the face of a last-minute threat or application to seek judicial review."

It is known that a number of legal challenges have been made to a duty judge but the only way individuals will be taken off the flight is if an injunction is served.

The 32 Iraqis are all in detention, and were only told they were to be forcibly returned within the past seven days. They were all warned that the home secretary would not defer their removal if a threat or legal application was made.

The high court is closed for the summer, and only a duty judge is available to deal with possible appeals. This is believed to be the first time removals will take place as a matter of policy while there are still legal challenges outstanding.

Today's deportees are only the second group of failed asylum seekers that the government has tried to send back to Iraq. In February 2004 ministers decided to start enforcing the return of failed asylum seekers to the country, but the programme has been a notable failure. Since 2000 more than 30,000 Iraqis have applied for asylum and more than 90% have been rejected. So far, 2,600 are known to have gone home voluntarily but only 20 have been forcibly removed.

The dangers of flying into Iraq meant this group was flown to Cyprus in a charter plane before being flown to Irbil in northern Iraq, an area administered by the Kurdish regional government, by the Ministry of Defence.

Ministers say it is important to demonstrate that people will be sent back to Iraq to "maintain the integrity of our asylum system" in the face or repeated criticisms.

The Home Office says today's flight will go directly to Irbil, and that Home Office staff will be on board. Ministers admit that there are security problems in parts of Iraq, "but we do not accept this applies to all areas". Nevertheless, they have decided not to send back women or children or break up family groups for the present.

Maeve Sherlock of the Refugee Council said last night: "News reports every day show that Iraq is still a highly volatile and dangerous place. It isn't possible under these circumstances to guarantee the safety of anyone returned there." She added: "Many Iraqis are keen to return to Iraq and will do so as soon as it is safe."

The UN Commissioner for Refugees was also seeking reassurances from the government that those sent back today will have access to protection, housing and other basic services.

    Reid warns judges not to block Iraqis' deportation, G, 5.9.2006, http://society.guardian.co.uk/asylumseekers/story/0,,1865093,00.html