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Analysis: ID cards through the backdoor?

Wed Dec 03 02:04PM

There are many rules in politics. One, which has stood the test of time, is: 'If you can't convince someone of something, put it in a minor clause'.

There's every indication the Home Office intends to do that with ID cards today through the immigration and citizenship bill. It looks like rules allowing immigration officers or policemen to check you identity at ports of entry will be extended throughout the country.

There will be no law requiring you to produce a card, but the legislation would have the effect of making it necessary. How do they get away with it? Well, the rules would only apply to people who have entered the UK. So, as long as you've never left the country, you'll be fine. Feel free to laugh.

This is, in essence, a statement of intent. For some time now it appeared the government was backing down slightly on ID cards and the security agenda in general. The home secretary's promise to impose the cards on all airport workers shrivelled up into a pilot scheme for two airports last month. Private coroner's inquests and 42-day detention both bit the dust.

This morning, everything looks different. Private coroner's inquests will almost certainly be found nestling in the coroners and death investigation bill. ID cards in the immigration bill. Lie detector tests for benefit cheats are on the welfare reform agenda. It seems civil liberties activists, who yesterday thought they had had a relatively successful year, now have every reason to stay active.

The reason analysts are reading so much into this minor clause is because of how far it goes. At no point has anyone in government supporting ID cards admitted British citizens would be forced to provide them on demand in the street, but that is exactly what the clause would do. Refusing the demand could see you landed with a £500 fine or even a prison sentence of up to 51 weeks.

The response was instantaneous. "Sneaking in compulsory identity cards via the back door of immigration law is a cynical escalation of this expensive and intrusive scheme," said Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti.

Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "Ministers seem to be breaking their promise that no one would ever have to carry an ID card. This is a sly and underhand way of extending the ID card scheme by stealth."

Tory immigration minister Damian Green - yes, that one - said: "This scheme will do nothing to improve our security, may make it worse, and will certainly land the taxpayer with a multi-million bill."

And that's not all. In their submission on the bill during consultation, campaign group No2ID highlighted several other ugly aspects.

"NO2ID believes the draft bill represents a massive change to common law rights and culture disguised as codification. It includes provisions which, if implemented, would have serious consequences not only for people from other countries living in or visiting the UK, but also British citizens," they told MPs.

Clause one of the bill makes entry to the UK wholly dependent on identification, rather than your British citizenship. Lose it, or have the government invalidate it, and you will find yourself in legal limbo.

"Though committee members might consider casual incompetence or fraud more likely, the effect for the individual would be the same," No2ID said.

If your documents fail - say because the microchip in the passport ceases to function - you could be deemed not to have entered the UK under clause 22. Suddenly you can be legally 'returned' to whichever country you were last in or held in an immigrant detention centre without remedy. This isn't as unlikely as you might think. The microchip in the new all-singing, all-dancing biometric passport has a two-year manufacturer's warranty. The passport is meant to last for ten.

This is what the Home Office had to say: "It is simply wrong to claim there are any plans whatsoever to make identity cards compulsory for British citizens or to require British citizens to have an ID card at all times and present it when asked. To maintain effective immigration control it is only right that we ask everyone attempting to enter the UK to produce a valid identity document."

The question is, do you believe them?

Ian Dunt

Comments71 - 80 of 84

This all started when calls came to tighten immigration. the british being fed up of accomodating foriegners cried out their lungs for a remedy, forgeting that this nation itself is a 'consumer' rather than a 'manufacturer'. Most goods are imported and the country has no reserve of natural resourses, that is why the only source of revenue for the government is TAX. Think about how much we pay on everything we utilise. So, where do foreigners (or so called illegal immigrants) play a role? simple..they work..the kinda work a typical english man would refuse..pay tax..and never get a tax refund which a citizen could. so if 1 million illegal workers pay an average of 300 pounds tax monthly, that translates to 36 million pounds per annum. Ever though about what the goverment could do with 36 million pounds? Do u know how much is forked out annually on benefits for lazy citizens? but it seems the public dont understand how it works...so the punishment is here...a remedy which incapacitates everyone. ID CARD!

From soundmasterminder on Sat Dec 06 09:42AM
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Why is the opposition government not keeping the people informed over this matter, are they being paid for doing nothing.
The systematic introduction of a police state has been going on under the Labour govvernment for years.
Witness the shooting dead of an innocent person on a tube train,
the use of anti terrorism laws to eject hecklers from political (Labour) meeting.
The use of anti terrorism laws to spy on people suspected of cheating to get their children into good schools.
The invasion of parliament and search MP's offices against fundamental democratic law.
Tell me this is a democracy and not a police state and prove these points wrong.

From tonycounsell on Sat Dec 06 10:16AM
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It seems NL are intent on total control & full loss of civil liberties. Put ID cards together with the collation of our data in one place and interception of all phone calls, texts, emails and CCTV then you have a very frightening scenario indeed.

From rogerpuxley on Sat Dec 06 03:14PM
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This new card will not make identity theft less likely. Unless the shops have the equipment to test and verify your biometric data (which is incredibly unlikely) then we will be liable to the same level of identity theft because the cards will be forged.
What's worse is that with a massive centralised database open to hundreds of thousands of (corruptible) civil servants how long do you think it will be before your data is in the public domain for any criminal to use?
For goodness sake if a politician is selling you something you must question their claims very carefully before you buy it!

From leon.edney on Sat Dec 06 05:03PM
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Bring on ID cards for everyone, fo it and stop moaningrom birth. For once the Europeans have it right (sorry to say) and we all need ID cards. Just d

From netherwitton on Sun Dec 07 11:55AM
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i lived in germany for 4 years and we had a permit,on occasion we had to show our passport if purchasing a large item.I NOW LIVE IN FRANCE AND IT IS SIMILAR HERE THE POLICE OFTEN STOP CARS AND CHECK PAPERWORK,OR SHOPS VERIFY ID. YOU GET USED TO IT ,AND WHY WORRY IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE I THINK IT IS FINE!

From margaret_longmore on Mon Dec 08 05:57AM
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I have lived in Germany for the last 30 years and have a permit with photo. It is all no probleme. On the contrary, it makes things very simple when buying expensive goods.
But......an ID card in Britain?. Dont really know what would be achieved by it under the reasons given by the govenment and based on the experiences I have made in England in the last 3 months.
Phone the job centre and say you want a job. They send you details to the adress you haven given them. Then one goes to a doctor and registers. Now one has a national insurance number. The next step would then be the ID card. Just get your biometric photo taken and apply. Of course i had no interest in cheating, but a false identity in England is so easy to get.

From lankasjockey on Mon Dec 08 08:44AM
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Morons, who don't want the ID cards introduced in this country , better leave this country. They won't be missed. log on www.thereligionofpeace.com

From surjit.kaila on Mon Dec 08 11:14PM
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who are we kidding? when is the last time any of us came into contact with a real policeperson. We are already tagged. every journey on your sat nav is recorded. our 'loyalty cards' record everything we buy, our wheelie bins even have chips in them. We are monitored from afar, CCTV, we are the most watched nation on the face of the globe. We can be found within several metres of our mobile phones by satellite. why bother moaning about it now? think about it, we even have lamp posts, in some city centres, that can talk to us! Liberty is a thing of the past.

From vlad.tepes4 on Tue Dec 09 09:57PM
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What is it with british government, all they seem to do is screw the nationals and please the immegrants,I was told years ago britain is great, it is if you are not british why not spend revenue on us and not these poxy ideas they always come up with, poltitians start ruling britain from britain not brussels we was and should still be an indipendant island but now we just lay down and roll over, take a leaf out of the French and stand up for you rights at least they have the bottle to do it!!!!!!!! zappa!!

From alain.hegarty on Wed Dec 10 12:43PM
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