The Cabinet has ruled out introducing compulsory national identity cards for many years, although Liberty and our allies need to remain vigilant, it is encouraging that common sense has, for the time being, prevailed.

Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty said:

'This is quite clearly a humiliating defeat for the Home Secretary. I am particularly pleased that many members of the Cabinet have made clear their opposition to a compulsory national identity card, not least on civil .liberty grounds. To delay taking a decision until ‘later in the decade’ , when the composition of the Cabinet is likely to be markedly different, is a face saving formula to disguise the fact that Mr Blunkett has lost the argument.'
 

What is plain is that the political appetite for national ID cards is simply absent at the mosts enior levels of government. We are delighted that civil liberties concerns have been raised around the Cabinet table. However, it seems to have been practical and political arguments that have carried the day. Given the tendency of this issue to raise its ugly head every few years, we need to continue to hone the case against identity cards and ensure that the principled case continues to gain ground.

We also need to ensure that an ID cards aren't introduced by stealth. Ever increasing surveillance of British citizens, both by the state and by the private sector, needs to be subject to checks, balances and proper regulation. We don't want to discover that incremental increases in snooping lead to a a sitaution which is ultimately as bad, if not worse, than a fully-fledged ID card system. There are still many battles to be won.