ID Card trouble ahead as Al-Qaeda model TaliRaybans.

Government plans for iris recognition systems on national identity cards were left in tatters tonight when Osama Bin Laden modelled new Al Qaeda spectacles in his latest video

The TaliRaybans use pixellation technology similar to that employed to disguise faces in television footage and would render iris recognition technology useless, it has emerged.

This is the latest in a series of obstacles for Home Office plans to develop biometric databases. Iris recognition has already proved unworkable for people with moist eyes, contact lens and the visually impaired.

David Blunkett is set to rule the new glasses illegal on the grounds that he is in charge now.

 Britain: What A State

The Department of Social Scrutiny's guide to your entire life in Britain. Includes all necessary tax and identity card application forms and a full guide to the British public transport system, as officially sanctioned by Notwork Rail.

Plus: New retirement guide "Are You Alright, Dear", handy graduated tea strength colour matching chart and official guidelines for the consumption of cake, biscuits and other snacks served at ambient room temperature.

Britain: What A State

�Thank God: a book that's both clever and funny. Deserves a place on the lap of every comedy fan in Britain.� Charlie Brooker
�If you wince at the word 'benchmark', this neat parody could be just the thing to cheer you up.� Sunday Telegraph Magazine