Scots warned to be wary of data sharing plan

Opposition warns Scottish government to be wary of UK legislation in the light of criticism of ID cards

Scottish parliament warned over data sharing

Scottish MSPs have been warned that a clause in the Coroners and Justice Bill going through Westminster would allow UK government departments to extract information from databases run by Scottish bodies without any further consent or scrutiny in Edinburgh.

Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Robert Brown complained in the Scottish Parliament that as a result of the controversial legislation, the SNP-led government is sleep-walking into co-operating with the UK’s ID card proposals to which it claims to be implacably opposed.

First minister Alex Salmond said in response that he is not opposed to data sharing which he believed could be good for society.

Brown later attacked Salmond’s "cavalier" attitude to the Bill, urging the Scottish government to seek assurances that any information shared will not be used for the "ill-conceived" ID card scheme.