The Government’s controversial ID Cards Bill will receive its second reading in the House of Commons on the 28th June. Gareth Crossman, Policy Director of Liberty, said:

“The horrendous economic costs of this ID card scheme are becoming clearer by the day; the social costs will be with us for decades.

Let us hope that Parliament seizes its chance to reject a Bill that, far from making us safer, could cost us each £300 for the privilege of losing more civil liberties”.

Liberty Press Office: 0207 378 3656 or 0797 383 1128

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 in the ID Debate
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.