Fancy a game of tag?

The BBC have reported that scientists working for a new research centre at University College London are busy developing the prototypes of an orwellian system that will represent yet another encroachment on the civil liberties of otherwise law-abiding citizens. Following on from the ludicrous frenzy stirred up by the patently fake 'liquid explosives plot', the device, an electronic tag, will be issued to passengers at check-in and will be used to “track the movement patterns of passengers deemed to be suspicious and prevent them from entering restricted areas”. The system will go through trials at Debrecen airport in Hungary and if successful it could be coming to an airport near you within two years.

Going by the statements of the designers in the BBC article cited above, this device will be fixed to the passenger in such a way as to be difficult to remove. In order to soften the blow to civil liberties this development represents, the scientists claim that “It could also aid airports by helping evacuation in case of a fire, rapidly locating children, and finding passengers who are late to arrive at the gate”. With such a soft and fluffy pedigree, presumably it will also help find lost puppies and retrieve kittens caught up trees.