This interesting twist to Mr Blunkett's approach to national security was revealed when he made the keynote speech on Tuesday at the Infosecurity Europe show in London.

In what appears to be a mellowing of his approach to national security, the former Home Secretary dismissed suggestions that the UK has become a surveillance society, noting that the days when a community leader such as a doctor or vicar could vouch for you when applying for an official document such as a passport or similar are now long gone.

As a result, he told the keynote audience, there is a need for citizens to self-identify themselves and, in this regard, he says, biometric passports are an ideal solution.

The UK is, he explained, facing a serious security threat in the shape of possible attacks in the run up to, or during, the 2012 London Olympic Games.

And, he told his audience, there is a distinct lack of joined-up government when it comes to collating data for national security purposes.

The announcement earlier this week by the Government, he says, to scrap plans for a single email and internet database is not a good thing.

Not from a national security perspective, but from the point of trying to protect the multiple databases that citizen's data is - and will continue to be - stored upon.

"As already indicated, it is crucial that people understand the enormity of the potential of identity theft," he says.

"That is why biometric documentation with properly authenticated and reliable methods of verification is so crucial," he adds.

"This is still an underestimated area of our life in Britain. Without that knowledge and appropriate action, not only major events like the Olympics but our business future could potentially be damaged," he noted.