The proposed national identity register - the heart of the Government’s identity card scheme – is to be reassessed in light of the recent data loss at HM Revenue & Customs.

Michael Wills, the data protection minister, said that the loss of CDs containing the details of 25 million people would have implications for the register. “We are going to have to learn the lessons,” he told the joint Lords and Commons human rights committee. “Everything will have to be scrutinised and then we will assess it again.”

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, had earlier defended the identity register to MPs. She said: “The advantage of a national identity register is that it enables the linking of the biometric information maintained on one database to be linked to biographic data on another database, thereby strengthening the protection for individuals in the circumstances where, for example, biographical information was stolen or went missing.”

The proposed register would contain the full names of every person, the date and place of their births and their current and previous addresses. It would also contain photographs, signature, fingerprints,national insurance and drivers’ licence numbers and details of any immigration documents.

Ministers decided against storing all the information together because of the cost and increased security risk. Biographical details would be stored at the Department of Work and Pensions, while biometric information would be kept at the Passport Agency.

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