The present government has a notoriously cavalier attituted to the security of the taxpayer's data. Now, it wants even more from travellers, including their credit card details.

We have been told, two years after the event, that the Revenue Department lost a data CD in 2005. It contained details of PEPs held by users of the UBS Laing & Cruikshank bank. The government described the loss as a 'one-off incident' at the time and the head of the Revenue Dept., David Varney, claimed that immediate improvements to the system had been made to prevent future data losses. Two years later, a junior clerk HM Revenue & Customs was able illegally to download the personal and bank account details of 25,000,000 people to 2 CDs for the National Audit Office and put them, unregistered, in the TNT mail service, where they disappeared. This same criminally careless government would like travellers to provide the following information everytime they go abroad. This applies to people using airports, ferries, trains and even yachts which leave British waters (without necessarily calling at a foreign port) and return to shore. But would you trust Labour's bunglers with any of it? 1. Full name 28. Details of passengers on booking with a different itinerary 2. Gender 29. E-mail address 3. Date of birth 30. Ticket number & date of issue 4. Nationality 31. Any other information the ticket agents thinks is of interest 5. Type of travel document 32. Number on ticket 6. Travel document number 33. Reserved seat number 7. Issuing country of travel document 34. Date of issue for ticket 8. Expiry date 35. Traveller's 'no show' history 9. Registration of vehicle if applicable 36. Bag tag numbers 10. Place of birth 37. Whether travel details are 'flexible' 11. Issue date of travel 38. Names of infants and/or staff travelling in party 12. UK visa or entry clearance expiry date 39. Details of unaccompanied minors travelling 13. Booking reference number 40. Details of who made the booking 14. Date of reservation 41. History of changes to travel arrangements 15. Date(s) of intended travel 42. Number of travellers in party 16. Passenger name (if different from 1.) 43. Seat Information including if first class 17. Other passengers on same booking 44. Is the ticket one-way only? 18. Passenger's address 45. Other biographical information 19. Form of payment including credid card number 46. Cost of fare 20. Billing address 47. Check-in time 21. Contact numbers, including numbers at destination 48. Actual seat number 22. Travel itinerary & route 49. Amount of baggage checked in 23. Frequent flier information (miles flow, addresses) 50. Check-in agent's details 24. Travel agency 51. Out-bound travel indicator 25. Person at travel agent who made booking 52. Where journey began if traveller not on first leg of trip 26. Reference number of any shared booking 53. Group description: is party family, friends, etc.? 27. Status of booking (confirmed, on waiting list, etc.) The information will have to be supplied at least 24 hours before the journey so that it can be circulated to police forces, HM Customs and the Security Service. Anyone with an outstanding court fine, e.g. for speeding, will be refused permission to travel. Those who do get to travel will be delayed more than at present by additional baggage searches and the inevitable screw-ups in the system. The scheme will cost at least £1,200,000,000 over the next 10 years. The Home Office has given a contract to the US company Raytheon Systems to run the computer system. If Labour's track record is anything to go by, if it is ever introduced, the system will be late and vastly over-budget, it won't work and the data stored will be readily accessible to criminals through blunders.   #