Haven't I heard this somewhere before? [purplecthulhu]

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According to The Register, the PM's 'special envoy for returns' is 'looking at the scientific and technical identification of nationality'. I thought we gave up all this 'scientific basis' for race and nationality up about 60 years ago?

Those who do not learn from history...

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There are 7 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

The biggest problem faced in deporting illegal immigrants is working out what country to deport them to. It seems like a reasonable approach to look at things like isotope ratios and trace elements to try to work out where potential deportees lived before they came to the UK, and it's not the same thing as trying to find a scientific basis for race or nationality.

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Those aren't the techniques being suggested, but I also have doubts about the efficacy of such things as isotope ratios. The contents of most soft tissues, which make up the bulk of body mass, cycle through in a month or less, so no help there. You're thus left with long term contaminants such as pollutants dissolved in fat (westerners would be more polluted) or the contents of hard tissues. To get at most of these would require a local or general anesthetic and, I would submit, a medical professional breaking many of the standard rules of professional behaviour. So no, I don't think this one is going to work either.

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The only "techniques being suggested" at this time are being suggested by The Register, which may not quite have its finger on the pulse of Home Office thinking.

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Depends on the level of unattributable private briefings going on, this being the final days of Leader Blair...

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It seems to me they are barking up the wrong tree here. Better not suggest to them the more obvious answer, which is to use accent and language to determine original nationality. It's a good deal more accurate than trying to determine race from DNA, let alone nationality.

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That would mean elocution lessons would suddenly be in demand, or, alternatively, the accused would just refuse to speak (which they are perfectly within their rights to do).

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Bloody hell. As if this Government wasn't scary enough already.

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purplecthulhu

Haven't I heard this somewhere before?

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December