Photos: A first glimpse of the ID card

The pink and blue cards are marked with the royal crest, as well as a thistle, daffodil, shamrock and rose to represent each country in the UK.

The cards are printed with the holder's name, date and place of birth, sex and nationality, as well as the card's expiry date, place and date of issue, type of permit and remarks.

Identity cards for UK nationals will display largely the same information as a British passport - including biographical information and the cardholder's photograph on the front. This data, together with images of two of the holder's fingerprints, will also be stored on the card's chip.

Photo credit: Chris Beaumont/silicon.com