THE severe M&S cyber attack shows why biometric eye-scanners should not be rolled out in shops and airports, Usdaw’s annual conference heard today.

Proposals to allow police, Border Force and shopworkers to use iris ID scanners could tackle benefit fraud, save police time and prevent assaults on shop staff when customers are required to verify their age, the conference in Blackpool was told.

The motion was overwhelmingly rejected by delegates after Usdaw deputy general secretary Dave McCrossen said the data protection watchdog had already banned employers from using this type of information as part of their employee records.