The ID and Biometric passport ideas aren't wholly British Government inspired, but you must remember that 1)A British Minister has agreed to it all in Europarl, and 2) Our Government is wanting to go quite a bit further in terms of the NIR usage than other EU countries.
Also, there is a good chance that the EU Bill of Human Rights is going to help those against the NIR and ID cards in the future....
This is all "so far as i know", and i am very willing to look at any info you have on the EU influence
