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UK identity cards critiqued

Jul 30, 2004 11:30 AM

Britain's plans for compulsory national identity cards - seen by the government as a key weapon in fighting terrorism - are unclear and poorly thought out, a leading committee of lawmakers said.

The Home Affairs Committee said it backed introducing ID cards, abolished in Britain more than 50 years ago, but had major reservations about specific details of the scheme.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's government wants to bring in biometric ID cards containing details like facial dimensions, iris images and fingerprints which could be checked against a national database.

It says the cards would help track terrorists, illegal immigration and organised crime.

Voluntary ID cards would not be introduced until 2007, after the next general election. They are not expected to be made compulsory until 2013, and only if the sitting government and parliament agree.

"The government has only one chance to get it right. Whether public support continues will depend on how the scheme works in practice, and its impact on everyday life," said John Denham, the committee's chairman.

The report itself said: "Key elements in the proposal are poorly thought out and the draft bill goes far wider than is necessary to introduce a simple system to establish and demonstrate identity."

The committee queried how the national register would be used in practice and said the plans needed to be more widely scrutinised by technical experts and the public.

"Too many major IT projects have failed in the past and the government must adopt an open procurement process," Denham said.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said the plans were at "an early stage" but insisted ID cards would bring "enormous benefits".

"We need to have the freedom to live without being exploited, to prove quickly and decisively who we are and to travel freely. And we need to ensure the security of our country and make sure that our public services are only used by those who are entitled to them," he said.

The opposition Conservatives said the technology could be fallible.

"There is real concern that the viability of biometric technology remains unproven, and the committee are also clear that ID cards on their own are not the solution to terrorism and illegal working that David Blunkett claims they are," said Conservative Home Affairs spokesman David Davis.

The plans for ID cards have outraged many civil liberties campaigners who say they are unworkable, ineffective and an invasion of privacy.

In the past, Britons have had to carry ID cards only in wartime, unlike most Europeans. The last compulsory identity papers were abolished in 1952 by the government of Winston Churchill.