UK News
ID cards for Britons pushed back two years claim Tories
By Rich Bowden, M&C Staff Writer Jan 23, 2008, 9:33 GMT
epa01028178 The British Houses of Parliament in central London, 03 June 2007. A plan for compulsory ID cards for all UK citizens will be forced back two years claim Tories. EPA/ANDY RAIN
(M&C) - A plan for compulsory ID cards for all UK citizens will be forced back two years claim Tories.
The Opposition has claimed it has a leaked Home Office document in its possession which shows the granting of compulsory ID cards has been put back to 2012.
The original plan was to "issue significant volumes of ID cards alongside British passports by 2010".
Shadow immigration minister Damian Green told the BBC: "It's clear that there are enormous practical difficulties in putting 50 different pieces of personal information including addresses of 60 million British citizens plus lots of foreigners into a single database."
"I think the reality is just beginning to bite ministers on this, so this delay is the first sign of reality intruding, let's hope there are more to come."
However Home Office minister Tony McNulty said to reporters the ID card system, claimed by former prime minister Tony Blair as a "central plank" in Labour's manifesto, was "on target". Mr McNulty refused to comment on the validity of the leaked document.
Foreign nationals living in the UK will have ID cards issued this year as planned.
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Back-pedalling, eh? sensible people have been shouting for ages that this sort of scheme should be de-coupled entirely from the intrusive databases. There is simply far, far too much risk involved with the volumes of highly-sensitive and personal info of 60-odd million people. All we have heard about is data loss, one miserable episode after another.
The 'benefits' are few; government claims of 'deterring fraud', 'stopping terrorists' and 'making life convenient' are laughable to say the least. We are not living in a war-time, so we don't need them. Fraudsters will continue defrauding; terrorists usually have legal id cards anyway. Handing over one's fingerprints is the action normally reserved for criminals; it is demeaning and an insult to one's character to have to do this.
Having a card only proves that you are the person who applied for it; it doesnt prove much else. Other countries indeed do have ID cards BUT.....BUT they don't have the intrusive databases that we have (or will/might have).That is the main important difference; do away with Big Brother and you will do away with a large part of the problem. Then the card would be more acceptable to those who actually really need one. As for me, well my passport is good enough, and I dont see why things can't stay that way.
page: 1
Ian ThomasJan 23rd, 2008 - 11:37:23
The reference to 'A plan for compulsory ID cards for all UK citizens will be forced back two years claim Tories.' needs to be clarified, as the current legislation does not empower the Government to make registration for an ID Card compulsory, let alone making it compulsory to carry one.
It is, however, reasonable to infer that the Government does indeed want to make registration and perhaps even the carrying of an ID Card compulsory, but another act of Parliament will be required to make this law.
It is understandable that confusion exists over this matter, as the Government have been very devious and underhand about the introduction of ID Cards from the very beginning, changing the name to reflect current expediency, changing the supposed 'benefits' depending on the current news headlines and sneaking their introduction in under various pretenses such as US passport compliance requirements, forcing them on 'soft targets' such as foreigners.
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