Abandon ID cards

The Identity Cards Act was introduced during the period of global insecurity following 9/11 – and during what some would say was the paranoia of the era of President Bush and his vice-president Dick Cheney. The rule of law in the US was under constant threat, the Patriot Act and the Homelands Security Act spring to mind. But it is noteworthy that even in the darkest days of the threats to the rule of law no attempt was made to establish a national identity card system in the US.

Liberty has correctly pointed out (most recently in its response to the Home Office of February 2009) that ID cards have no value as far as security is concerned. The attempt to justify the scheme on the grounds of the undoubted risk of terrorism is not sustainable. ID cards and the national register are, of course, identity related but there is absolutely no evidence that they will improve security. That is no doubt the reason why the government has not tried to bring ID cards into effect earlier.

The government has shifted to immigration as a reason for ID cards. It argues that all foreign nationals (except EU nationals who do not require visas) are required to obtain an ID card when obtaining a visa. The truth is that the information is already held on a person when they apply for a visa.

The third reason advanced by the government, viz combating crime, is a Home Office fiction. We all subscribe to the fight against crime. But there is quite simply no evidence that the national identity register will serve to combat serious crime.

A central concern about the creation of a national identity register must be the privacy implications that flow from holding the personal data of millions of individuals.