The Guardian had an article recently about Britain's leading civil liberties groups No2ID and Privacy International planning to offer a £1,000 reward for the lawfully obtained fingerprints of the Prime Minister Gordon Brown's or Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.

The two groups who are opposed to the UK government's planned ID card scheme, have launched the campaign to show the dangers of the collection of fingerprints into central government database, according to their websites. The article says that the groups are creating 10,000 pseudo 'Wanted' posters to be placed in tube stations and pub lavatories offering the cash for the fingerprints, saying that Brown and Smith are wanted for "planning to steal the fingerprints of the entire British population."

The groups stipulate on the poster that "the fingerprint must be obtained lawfully and can be located on a beer glass, doorknob or any object with a hard surface. Corroborating evidence is required to ascertain the identity of these thieves. The fingerprints will then be made publicly available."

The poster continues, "As fingerprint technology spreads, this government will essentially have back-door access to your computers, files, wallets and even cars and homes. We are offering this bounty to teach these individuals a lesson about personal information security."

Both No2ID and Privacy International are fully expecting to be prosecuted by the government for incitement.

Source: spectrum.ieee.org