Waste of Time, Waste of Money – ID cards

At the minimum cost of £5.8 billion by current government estimates, which on their track record will no doubt over run massively, one would think that they must have a good reason for this scheme. It is claimed that identity cards will stop terrorists, catch criminals and prevent fraud. This is a problem where the costs involved are not the most salient issue. Once again, a serious infringement on civil liberties is worth preventing. We should not fight against this on the basis of the money that can be saved, as true freedom cannot be valued in financial terms.

We are entering a ghastly period where ever more power is being shifted towards the control of the state. Every day we are drawing more and more parallels with George Orwell's 1984. Many European states have national ID cards; however none has the National Identity Register (NIR) that is desired by the British Government. The NIR will eventually have us all finger printed and eye scanned and it also envisages recording our DNA on file. Can this sensitive data really be entrusted to a government that has a track record of leaving confidential files, carrying thousands of people’s personal information, on trains and in taxis?

Such a scheme will inevitably treat us all like criminals that are guilty until proven innocent, thereby fundamentally altering the premise upon which our justice system has always operated. How long would it be until this data was sold or until it falls into private hands? Imagine what could be done if pharmaceutical companies obtained an entire nation’s DNA records and used the information to profile and scaremonger citizens into buying pre-emptive treatments. How is an ID card supposed to prevent terrorism? Terrorists do not operate in the confines of the legal system and there will be plenty of ways to circumvent the bureaucratic rules.

Having one document containing all of our details will make it easier for criminals to steal our identities! The ID card will increase police powers, as there will be more reason for us to be stopped and searched when they become compulsory to carry. Furthermore, an ever increasing number of public and private services will require our identity to be checked before use and as such, the government will be able to monitor our activities even more. It is not widely published, but the automatic plate recognition cameras installed throughout the motorway network and in most UK town centres are already watching us use our cars. There are 50 million number plate scans made every day and each is stored on the Police National Computer for five years.

Evidently, the government wishes to know everything about us. The NIR will hold fifty categories of information and, to add insult to injury, it will be private companies that set up these systems, with the first ID contract being awarded to Thales SA, a French defence contractor. For innocent citizens, is this really a matter of having nothing to hide or do we in fact have even more to fear?