"Up to 40 minutes after any Chip & PIN card transaction, the retailer may access your confidential details"

Full startling story at Devils' Kitchen

If this story is true , it's alarming in terms of fraud and consumer protection. But at a deeper level - if the public are being deceived over this, how much could anyone trust an ID card system?

And how does it relate to this report back in May:

Petrol giant Shell has suspended chip-and-pin payments in 600 UK petrol stations after more than £1m was siphoned out of customers' accounts.

Eight people, including one from Guildford, Surrey, and another from Portsmouth, Hants, have been arrested in connection with the fraud inquiry.