The front page of the Guardian on 7th August 2006 says that the much-vaunted new biometric passports can be cloned, as established by some one called Grunewald and reported in wired.com

The article might appear to give some cheer to those of us who seriously object to the belated attempt to turn Britain into Oceania (or whatever it’s called in Orwell’s 1984.) However the Home Office is not deterred. It insists the data is still “safe”- the new biometric passport being one of the “safest in the world”. How many other countries have a biometric passport? Is there a league table of their safeness? Who is top?

The Home Office says that the data can’t be modified even if it’s possible to copy the chip. Well, obviously we have to believe them, because no one has ever spoofed or altered material held on computer, have they? Who would imagine such a thing ws even possible?