By Jo Best, 13 October 2003 16:53
NEWS David Blunkett's plans to get ID cards into the wallets of UK citizens may have hit another roadblock as yet another group has come out against the plans – and this time it's his fellow members of the Cabinet. While Chancellor Gordon Brown's distaste for the scheme is well known, a letter from Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to other members of the Cabinet detailing his objections to the scheme was leaked over the weekend in which he wrote: "The potential for a large-scale debacle which harms the government is great." Among the reasons cited by Straw for putting the scheme on hold permanently were fears that the debate surrounding the cards will backfire on the government and the issue of funding – Blunkett earlier announced that the cards would cost each citizen around £40 each. Straw also called into the question the potential loss of £33m in passport revenues as citizens would use their ID card instead of their passport to travel in Europe and the cost and possible problems with using biometrics. In the letter leaked to the Sunday Times he said: "What about the practicality of ensuring every citizen provides a biometric sample while no effective procedures are in place for those who refuse?" A similarly sceptical letter was also sent out by the Treasury raising objections to the cards. The letter also highlights that the compulsory charge will essentially mean levying another unpopular tax, which the government would prefer to avoid.
Comments
There are 2 comments. Join the discussion
1. anonymous
I don't understand the fuss. If Biometric data is going to be required to travel within the EU (and the US I believe), then those who refuse to give samples don't get to travel. Simple....
2. anonymous
What Is the fuss? Can you say Big Brother?
ID cards are potentially a great idea, but in their very usefulness is the potential for huge abuse. The convienience of them would inevitably lead to them being used for everything, whether the Government makes them compulsary by law or not, leading to a huge database of information of every sort about every Citizen in Britain, the abuse of which could make 1984 look like a bunch of liberal dreams.
Does anyone seriously trust the British (or any other...) Government NOT to abuse such a system?
Will the Government bother with more than a nod at enacting laws to prevent such abuse before rushing into the scheme? I doubt it...
Oh... and it's too bl**dy expensive as well!