No escape from ID cards
As expected the Lords’ amendments to the ID cards bill to require a new bill before adding any compulsion to the cards were cut by MPs yesterday. The government are claiming that the cards are still voluntary because they are issued with a (voluntary) passport. It doesn’t take a genius to spot that this means that it will eventually become impossible to escape the country without getting an ID card (and more importantly been recorded in the national identity register). I for one will be renewing my passport shortly before the arrival of the cards to allow a window to get out.
At some point in the future someone will wonder how we sleep-walked into a state where ordinary citizens had their every move tracked by the state and criminals ran free on their ’secure’ and 100% trusted fake IDs.