Illegal Immigration Crime Terrorism Discrimination Europe Biometrics
Saturday 25th May, 2009

Victory for the Tories Risks Leaving U.K. with Remnants of the ID Card Scheme

Adam Pegley, www.idcardandyou.co.uk

"We will scrap the ID cards scheme" states David Cameron on his website.

Assuming a Tory victory in 12 months we can expect the whole scheme to be dropped, or can we? As idcardandyou.co.uk warned in 2005, the identity card was a 'best-case' scenario for Labour and if this failed they could fall back on the biometric passport to achieve their plans with the support of the EU.

Let's remind ourselves of the ID card scheme Cameron claims he will scrap. This consists of three main components:
So, all three of these should end subject to a Tory victory. However, there are worrying signs that the Tories are just playing their part in Labour's original big plan. In April 2009, sensing voter disatisfaction, former Home Secretary David Blunkett announced Labour should scrap the ID card in favour of a compulsory biometric passport. This suggestion was later echoed by Chancellor, Alistair Darling. As the election nears, it looks like Labour is laying the path for the Tories to follow.

After the next election, there are some Tories more than willing to pick up the EU biometric identification scheme from where Labour left it. Chris Grayling, the Shadow Home Secretary, proudly states "we will continue with the introduction of biometric passports". Biometric passports mean the same system, just a different document. Grayling assures us "there will be no giant, big brother databases established under a Conservative Government", but the biometric passport requires exactly that.

The Conservatives, along with the Liberal Democrats, have previously voted in favour of the biometric passport programme. In January 2009, the EU voted to implement biometric passports including fingerprinting and facial biometrics. These are to be implemented from 29th June 2009 and supported by an EU-wide database.

So who do Britons with civil rights and privacy concerns vote for, Mr. Cameron? The Tory position continues to be schizophrenic.
References:

davidcameronmp.com: ID Cards, Bad Idea, http://www.conservatives.com/Campaigns/ID_Cards_Labours_Bad_IDea.aspx
Telegraph, MPs Expenses: Gordon Brown Under Pressure for Early Election, 22/05/09
BBC, Blunkett Seeks End to ID Cards, 28/04/09
Daily Mail, Darling Hints £5bn ID Cards Could be  Dropped in Favour of Biometric Passports, 30/04/09
johnredwoodsdiary.com: The Conservatives and the Surveillance Society, article by Chris Grayling, 21/04/09
EUobserver.com, EU to Launch Biometric Passports by Summer, 14/01/09
VoteWatch.eu, Security Features and Biometrics in Passports and Travel Documents,14/01/09