Identity Cards Bill

moved Amendment No. 70:"Page 4, line 8, at end insert—" ““(   )   In cases where subsection (3) does not apply, the Secretary of State shall be liable for inaccurate information recorded about an individual and all consequences of any such inaccuracy to— (a)   that individual; (b)   any person to whom the information is supplied; (c)   any person to whom false information is verified by the Register; and (d)   any person to whom true information is shown to be false in verification by the Register, and, where there is such inaccuracy, each such person may bring an action for damages against the Secretary of State.”” The noble Lord said: Compared with the genealogical speculations about which we have just heard, which I too share, this is a rather down-to-earth amendment. It is a limbering-up amendment so that we can get something right for the next stage of the Bill. It is plain on the face of the amendment what it is about; namely, allowing a citizen who has acted on the basis of information in the register that is wrong, who therefore suffers as a result, to follow the usual principles of negligence and be able to recover from the state. I am the first to admit that it is not an amendment that I would go into battle for, because it does not deal with a situation in which the individual has been partly responsible for the falsity of his register entry. That issue will need to be taken care of. However, I do not think I need say any more, but I shall be interested to hear what the Minister says. I beg to move.