ID cards 'could make identity fraud worse'

The government's ID cards project will not combat ID fraud but could instead make the problem worse, according to the Conservatives who have seized upon the controversy surrounding the scheme to score some easy points.

Yesterday the government issued figures which claimed to show a big increase in the cost of identity theft - to £1.7bn. But the accuracy of these calculations has been widely criticised, and the Tories accused the government of using the figures to scare the public.

Shadow home affairs spokesman Edward Garnier said in a statement: "ID cards will not combat ID fraud - they may well make it worse. Instead of playing on people's fears about ID fraud the government should take the £15bn the ID card system would cost and spend it on effective measures that will actually reduce fraud and combat terrorism."

Garnier said there is a substantial body of evidence to show the establishment of ID cards "could actually increase ID fraud rather than combat it ".

He warned: "If a criminal cracked the ID card database - and the government's record on running IT based projects does not inspire confidence - they would have access to a goldmine of information."