r32

For me personal freedom is important, the potential introduction of ID cards would seem to be a huge erosion of personal liberty, the gathering of DNA to put on a National database, the comments made by Blair about him wanting a national DNA database, his further comments about the possibility of 'chipping' citizens, the black box in your car, tracking every move, checking your speed and charging you wherever you go..... The ability for Council snoopers to enter your home and take photographs.
Its all a bit too far, we are already the most spied upon nation in the World. It seems to me that the cry of 'Show me your papers' should not be heard in the UK. We are turning into a Nation where the people are responsible to the Government and not the Government answerable to the people. I know where Labour stand on all these things, having written and got their responses. Heres the reply from David Camerons office ......... make your own mind up.

As you know, the Government brought back the Identity Cards Bill that failed to pass before the last General Election. The Bill will pave the way for a national system of ID cards linked to biometric passports.

Following pressure from Conservative Peers in the House of Lords (which repeatedly blocked the Bill), the Government have now been forced to make important concessions on the legislation. The Bill will now pass into law.

Under the original plans, the Home Office had wanted to force everyone to buy an ID card when they apply for a new passport from 2008. The effect of the agreement in the House of Lords is that there will now be an opt-out from having to receive a card until the year 2010.

In our view, it is important to realise what this concession will mean. Essentially, nobody who does not want to have an identity card before the next general election will have to have one. As David Davis MP, the Shadow Home Secretary, has rightly pointed out, this represents a major climb-down by the Government.

This remains, however, a very poor scheme. On cost, there is a massive bill of £19 billion. On effectiveness, it will fail to stop terrorism, illegal immigration, fraud and ID theft. On privacy, all our fears have been confirmed: it is still a massive reversal of the proper relationship between the citizen and the state. A recent Commons science and technology committee has also said that Government plans to introduce ID cards are "inconsistent" and "lacking clarity".

The Government has also admitted that ID cards would not have prevented the bombings in London on 7 July 2005. The money being spent on them could fund 20,000 police officers, a massive increase in the security services, or 24-hour security at our ports.

Gordon Brown has said that ID cards will stop the use of multiple identities, which will in turn aid in combating terrorism but the ID card co-ordinators don't share the Chancellor's optimism. Katherine Courtney, the ID Card Programme Director, and Ian Watmore, the Chief Information Officer, have acknowledged that biometric matching won't be infallible. In the case of one-to-many matching, which is needed to prevent people registering two or more identities, the technology is still unproven. 'No one has proven the technology on anything like the scale required by the card...We need to do further testing on one-to-many' (The Guardian, 15 September 2005).

The compromise that has been reached will defer some of worst aspects of the scheme, but will not solve its fundamental problems. For this reason, David Davis has made it clear that if the Conservative Party wins the next election and he takes over as Home Secretary, his first act will be to do away with the Bill.

Yours sincerely,




Alice Sheffield

David Cameron's Office
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA

Brendan Hughes

Translation - "Please vote for us".

Anyone knows that whatever the opposition promise, once they get into power they will say "Ah, but the situation has changed now, and due to new important reasons we're going ahead with it."


Cynic, moi?

DCI Gene Hunt

Read the title and pictured 1000 jocks in kilts charging down a boggy hill

Brendan Hughes

Yeah, that's New Labour.

SJ_Skyline

When his Tonyness is questioned over cash for peerages, I certainly hope he will have HIS DNA taken by the police and kept on file

sti-04!!

Tripple'O G

Me too!

"They may take our live....but they'll never take....our...."

scoobynutta555

I've read somewhere that his DNA is on file as he volunteered it.



Yes, welcome to the police state. Every one of life's little enjoyments from a cigarette in the local pub to the 'spirited' safe drive will be quashed one by one until a life turns into an existance.

Leslie

If that!

Les

NeilDown&PhilMee

I'm happy to give my DNA to any (good looking) female police officer, but she'll have to be on her knees and do all the work to get it.

Stephb1986

im not a fan of these id cards its just another way for them to be watching every move we make. i'll emigrate to a different country before i'll have one of them