Commenting on news that the Government will publish its controversial Bill establishing ID cards and the National Identity Register Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, said:

“The horrendous economic costs of the ID card scheme are clear; the social costs will be with us for decades. Parliament must reject this rehashed ID card Bill; a scheme more about political machismo than rational policy.

“Liberty recalls the welcome humility with which the Prime Minister addressed the nation after the general election. He reflected upon his much reduced parliamentary majority and the lowest share of the popular vote of a majority Government in living memory. He promised a more consensual approach and to listen more. The decision to push ahead with this ill-conceived scheme shows how little he actually heard.”

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Notes to Editors
Liberty is opposed to the proposal to introduce a national identity scheme.

We believe such a scheme will fail to tackle terrorism, identity fraud or any of the high-profile problems it is purportedly designed to address.

We have serious doubts about the security of a national central database and believe the risks to the rights of privacy and freedom from discrimination outweigh any benefits of centrally recording and sharing personal information.

Key Terms
The ‘National Identity Register’ or ‘register’ will be a national, central, database.

A ‘National Identity Registration Number’ is a unique number assigned to each individual. The number will link to the individual’s entry in the register.

‘Regulations’ are statutory instruments, or secondary legislation, which require affirmative resolution.

An ‘affirmative resolution’ requires agreement, by vote, in both Houses of Parliament, but it does not give Parliament the power to amend regulations – they will either stand or fall.

A ‘biometric identifier’ is a way of verifying someone’s identity based on their physiological or behavioural characteristics. They include fingerprints, digital fingerprints, retina scans, iris scans, hand geometry, voice recognition and facial recognition technology.