Identity Cards Bill

The point is that we cannot take samples. We do not take a sample of the iris when it is recorded. If we take a strand from someone’s head, that is a sample which cannot lawfully be taken under this Bill. You cannot take blood; you cannot take any other bodily fluid; you cannot take skin; you cannot take hair. The Secretary of State has no power to take anything that amounts to a physical sample. What you can do is externally record the facial characteristics, the iris and the fingerprints.