From Wikileaks
{leak |country=United Kingdom |description=1. Released before? Not at time of upload. Currently attempting to obtain publicity for content through UK media, and will reference wikileaks in doing so.
2. Importance? The document is the Non-Disclosure Agreement that was signed by those companies bidding for work related to the National Identity Scheme (the ID card programme).
It was drafted in 2007 and has been signed by the five companies on the supplier short-list, one of which (Thales) has been awarded a multi-million pound contract to start work on the scheme.
Clause 5 of the document provides the grounds upon which the Home Office can secure access to the property, computers and records of the company, its employees and subcontractors. Such access would be at the "sole discretion" of the Home Secretary. No search warrant or judicial oversight would be required.
This would mean, for example, if an employee of a software company working on the ID scheme took a work laptop home with them, they could face seizure of this computer from their domestic property without a search warrant (or indeed, without any suspicion of a crime having been committed).
3. Audience? UK press public and parliamentarians. Anyone involved in technical implementation of UK National ID Scheme or as another client of the ID scheme contractors whose confidentiality is compromised by these provisions.
4. Verification? Companies supplying Home Office, including Thales. UK Identity and Passport Service.
5. Why leaked? To bring attention to the manner of construction of the ID scheme and the highly secretive approach being adopted by the UK government.
6. Urgency? No. But the UK government being aware it has been leaked, means it needs to be held by wikileaks. It appears in the context of current news stories about the Home Office raiding an MP's office. |note=See http://no2id.org.uk/ for further information on this issue. |file_digest=SHA256 c30de6e9bf67c1b33927492da368e9b92ccf00717b3fda8d019cb011b1754c02 |file_info=PDF document, version 1.3 |file_name=homeoffice-id-nda-2007.pdf |file_size=2448356 |lang=en |organization=UK Home Office |organization_type=GOV |release_date=2008-12-6 |title=UK Home Office ID Scheme Non-Disclosure agreement, 2007 }
The Non-Disclosure agreement for companies working with the UK Government on the National identity card has been leaked on WikiLeaks. The document states, among other things, what rights the Government has to search the properties of companies involved and the obligations on the companies to keep information secret.
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Section five of the document states that if a company fails to comply with the agreement, or in other cases at the "sole discretion" of the Home Office, the government may search the property, records and computers of the company. The anonymous individual who leaked the documents has stated that "no search warrant or judicial oversight would be required," to carry out the search.

The leaker also states that individuals working for the company may have their computers searched "without any suspicion of a crime having been committed," although the document does require that these searches may only take place "for the purposes of ensuring that all National Identity Scheme information and associated copies are secure in accordance with this agreement or have been destroyed permanently or removed from their possession.

Section two of the document requires that the document is secured in accordance with policy set out by the government,  and requires that the information is only disclosed to those who need to have access as part of the identity card programme.

Section four of the document states that it shall be liable to the government for any breach of the agreement, and that, except for obligations required by the Official Secrets Act, the requirements shall no longer apply 25 years after the signing of the agreement, which took place in 2007.

The individual leaking the document has stated that  he did so "to bring attention to the manner of construction of the ID scheme and the highly secretive approach being adopted by the UK government."

Despite the criticism of the scheme, the Home Office has stated that the cards are required to "help protect people from identity fraud and theft," and "disrupt the use of false and multiple identities by criminals and those involved in terrorist activity."