Papers attack personal database plan

Version 0 of 1.

The eyes of Tony Blair - seeming suspicious, perhaps angry - stare from the Independent.

Beneath them the newspaper has the words: "Big Brother."

It's a striking way for the paper to voice concern about the idea of the government having all the personal data it holds on a single super-computer.

The paper sums it up as an "assault on civil liberties", while the Daily Telegraph wonders what will happen if incorrect information is entered.

IT nightmares

The Sun says the creation of a super-system containing all people's personal files would be "an open invitation to fraud and corruption".

The Daily Express imagines a computer system designed "with the skill of Frank Spencer and the intelligence of Inspector Clouseau".

That, according to the paper, is a fair summary of the government's record in running large computer projects.

The Daily Mail reminds readers the project will cost millions.

Real Tory

In an article for the Daily Telegraph, David Cameron sets out "to reassure traditional Conservative voters".

Mr Cameron vehemently denies "copying Mr Blair" or "aping... the failed New Labour experiment".

He says he wants to learn from their mistakes and he pays tribute to Margaret Thatcher, saying she "launched modern environmental politics".

And he praises the woman still seen as a touchstone by Tories as "animated by a vision of the good society".

Butler geezer

However much Downing Street may object, the papers persist in calling the quest for a "house manager" at Number 10, a search for a butler.

The Independent describes butlers in the 21st Century as "a useful ostentation for the nouveaux riches".

And the Times ponders why there has so far been a failure to find a suitable candidate for the job.

The paper wonders whether it might be because whoever gets the job would lose it when Mr Blair leaves office.