BRITAIN: UK residents could be required to hold a card proving their identity, under proposals outlined by British Home Secretary, Mr David Blunkett.
The "entitlement cards" would be a powerful weapon in the fight against illegal immigration and illegal working, fraud and identity theft, as well as making it easier for people to claim benefits and services, Mr Blunkett said. He stressed that it would not be compulsory to carry the ID cards at all times and that police would not be able to demand their production.
Refusing to register would probably be a punishable offence.
The Home Office stressed no records would be kept on the cards of racial origin, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, health or criminal convictions.
But civil liberties campaigners voiced concern over infringement of privacy, warning that Government officials would have access to vast amounts of information about individuals at the touch of a button.
The scheme most likely to be adopted would see credit card-style driving licences and passport cards doubling up as entitlement cards, with separate arrangements available for those not eligible to carry these documents.
The cost over the next 13 years was estimated at between £1.3 billion for basic plastic cards and £3.1 billion for hi-tech cards with microchips capable of storing holders' fingerprints and iris patterns as an anti-forgery feature.
Holders would be expected to pay for the cards through a hike of between £10 and £18 in the cost of renewing passports and driving licences.
Mr Blunkett said he was personally "enthusiastic" about the cards, which would be the first identity documents in the UK since the abolition of wartime ID cards in 1952.
But he stressed the government remained "neutral" on the issue and would consider public responses before bringing forward its plans early in the new year.
Legislation could be introduced in the following parliamentary session, after which it would take three years for the system to be set up and five or six years for up to 67.5 million people's details to be collected. - (PA, AFP)