Government admits identity cards oversold

12.29.31am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 22nd Aug 2005

The government has admitted that it has been guilty of "overselling" the case for a compulsory national identity card scheme in Britain and conceded that it will not prove a panacea for fraud, terrorism or the abuse of public services. Tony McNulty, the Home Office minister now responsible for identity cards, has also admitted that "in its enthusiasm" the government mistakenly emphasised the benefits to the state rather than arguing its benefits to the individual citizen.

The Liberal Democrats on West Berkshire Council passed a motion in Council last month stating its opposition to the introduction of national identity cards and stating that the estimated £3-5 billion which will be saved by scrapping plans for ID cards should be used to employ 10,000 new police and 20,000 new police community support officers.