Claims that there are plans to share information from the proposed National Identity Register with 26 other EU countries are unfounded (The Herald, November 27).

The Project Stork referred to is a research project involving 14 countries looking at each other's technical standards for delivery of online government services, with a view to making it easier for citizens and businesses to access such "e-services" cross-border. In the UK, the work is being conducted by the Cabinet Office (the Government Gateway) and the Identity and Passport Service.

Project Stork is not about ID cards, has nothing to do with the National Identity Scheme or providing data from the National Identity Register. As with the passport database, the National Identity Register will only hold core identity information. It will not hold tax, benefit or other records or be an amalgam of existing government data.

James Hall, Chief Executive, Identity and Passport Service, 89 Eccleston Square, London.