Do we really need identity cards?

OPPONENTS of identity cards have a whole list of objections.

The scheme would curtail civil liberties, encourage "big brother" State snooping and be a bureaucratic nightmare they say.

But perhaps the anti-ID brigade's most persuasive argument concerns the cost. Yesterday their cause was given a boost when a team of academics put the price of the scheme at between £12-£18 billion, a considerable jump from the Government's estimate of £5.8 billion.

And while ministers were saying it would cost us £93 each for a card and biometric passport - no small sum - the London School Of Economics report said the true figure was more likely to be somewhere between £170 and £300.

That's quite a tab for any family. No wonder some people predict this will be "Tony Blair's poll tax".

The scheme is expensive because it is so ambitious.

Today MPs were debating the ID cards Bill. This seeks to set up a national identity register.

Thought to be the biggest information technology project in Europe, the massive computer database would hold information on British subjects including their previous addresses and Government numbers.

Biometric information, such as fingerprints and iris scans, would also be included.

Electronic card readers, connected to the database, would be located in police stations, hospitals and social security offices.

People who failed to update their cards could face fines of £1,000 and fraudulent use of the cards would be punishable by up to ten years in prison.

ID cards would slash benefit and identity fraud, hamper terrorists and sort out the asylum system, the Government insists.

Not so, say opponents, which include Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs.

Criminals would soon find a way around the new cards, they argue, and the vast sums of money involved would be better spent on police.

So would you be happy to carry an ID card?

It's a question we put to a panel of York figures.

Two-thirds say 'yes'

TWO-thirds of people in Yorkshire support the implementation of national identity cards as a source of protection against identity theft, immigration and benefit fraud.

That is a little higher than the national average, according to research by York company CPP.

The survey also discovered that support is highest in the 35-44 years age bracket.

Londoners are most sceptical, with only 53 per cent in favour of the ID card scheme.

This research is significant for the Government because it contradicts recent polls that suggest public support of identity cards is slipping.

Owen Roberts, head of identity protection at CPP, said: "People in Britain are clearly concerned about a number of issues and identity theft is proving the biggest concern.

"Identity cards are seen as a form of protection; however, they cannot be considered the definitive solution to these issues, particularly because their implementation is at least seven years away and hostage to a number of political and technological barriers.

"There is also the challenge to ensure identity cards are impregnable against forgeries.

"Protection should go hand-in-hand with heightened awareness, education and self-responsibility."

Hugh Bayley, Labour MP for York: Yes

"ONE of the key reasons I have come around in favour of ID cards is that they would save millions of pounds of fraudulently claimed benefits," Mr Bayley said.

"I came to that conclusion when I was one of the benefits ministers some years ago.

"Because the Government intends to make savings from ID cards, I think it's reasonable to provide them at a much lower cost than that which is being suggested at the moment - or at no cost at all."

Mr Bayley wouldn't mind being asked to produce his ID card by the police, as they already have the power to request another form of identification, such as a driver's licence.

But he said Parliament must limit the data that can appear on the national identity register and should appoint an independent registrar "to ensure that it works strictly within these limits".

"Twenty-five members of the EU have ID cards and nobody suggests that in Sweden or France or Germany civil liberties are at risk," he added.

"All the ex-communist countries are all desperately keen on individual freedom for obvious reasons. They have ID cards believing the system protects their rights.

"My grandmother came to Britain from Lithuania as a refugee. In the Second World War everybody had an identity card.

"I still have her ID card.

For her it was a lifeline. It established her rights and entitlements, and her freedom."

Anne McIntosh, Conservative Vale of York MP: No

"THE point is one of principle: British people have always had the right to free movement," Ms McIntosh said.

But there were great practical worries too.

Disastrous and expensive Government IT schemes, such as caused the tax credit and passport fiascos, did not bode well for the far more complex identity database.

Experts have suggested that fingerprints and irises can change down the years, necessitating costly updates, the MP added. Moreover, if Britain were able to regain control both of our borders and of the asylum process, there would be no need for an ID card scheme.

Christian Vassie, Liberal Democrat York councillor: No

"I HOLD both British and French passports and as such I have a French ID card," revealed the representative for Wheldrake. "I don't have a problem in principle with that.

"But that's not the same as what is being proposed here.

"The French version is a simple piece of paper with a photo and signature, rather different to the biometrics which are being put forward.

"I have grave reservations about that simply because you can't control what's on the card."

He believes criminals and terrorists would work out ways to get round the system with technology, perhaps via contact lenses or gloves with counterfeit fingerprints.

Furthermore, "the cost of it is ridiculous".

Andy D'Agorne, Green Party York councillor: No

"IT'S an attack on civil liberties," states Coun D'Agorne, a high- profile campaigner against ID cards.

"This is part of ever-increasing State interference in individuals' personal lives. We all have some form of ID.

"The thing I particularly object to is the proposal to bring all the different identity information together in one massive database.

"This means that anyone who can access that database can potentially access all sorts of information, not just the stuff they are legitimately interested in."

A future government might abuse the database, Coun D'Agorne said.

He urged people to sign up against ID cards on www.pledgebank.com/refuse

Mildred Veal, campaigner for a Women's War Memorial: Yes

"I SHOULD be happy to pay carry it, but I don't think people would pay for it," said the wartime army gunner from Clifton, York.

"I wouldn't mind it. It wouldn't do any harm. I don't know if it would do any good.

"It would just be in my handbag like everything else.

"I don't think it would be an infringement. That's maybe because of my war record, when everyone had a card."

But finding the money to pay for a card "is going to be a job for a lot of old age pensioners".

Dan Atkinson, York comedian: Yes

"AS far as I am aware, the biometric information they're going to compile on ID cards is your fingerprints and iris scan," said the host of the Other Side Comedy Club.

"I don't know about you, but I seldom leave the house without my eyes and my fingers. Given that, I am not quite sure why it's a good idea."

On reflection, however, he thinks he would carry an ID card. "It's another thing to have alongside your store cards and it would bulk up your wallet.

"And it could have its benefits going to posh places where I don't always achieve maximum impact. People can often mistake me for part of the underclass.

"An ID card might sort that out."

What the Home Office says about ID cards

The scheme will provide a simple and secure "gold standard" for proving identity, protecting people from identity fraud and theft and providing them with a convenient means of verifying their identity in everyday transactions.

The national identity cards scheme also we will help to:

Disrupt the use of false and multiple identities which are used by organised criminals and in a third of terrorist-related activity;

Tackle illegal working and immigration abuse;

Ensure free public services are used only by those who are properly entitled to them;

Ensure British citizens are able to travel freely as international requirements for secure biometric identity documents develop.

Updated: 11:01 Tuesday, June 28, 2005