ID cards shelved

Wednesday, 6 April 2005 12:00 AM

Government plans to introduce ID cards have been shelved after the Government accepted they could not get the legislation through Parliament ahead of the general election.

Final pieces of legislation are being pushed through ahead of the dissolution of Parliament on Monday, but a number of bills unlikely to go through are being put on the backburner.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke said splits within the Conservative party had led to the abandonment of the ID cards bill.

He said the opposition party's shift from "overt support" to "weak abstention" had prevented the passage of the bill. The Tories rejected his claim.

But Mr Clarke did insist the scheme, under which each UK citizen would be issued with a "biometric" card bearing fingerprints and other personal details that would be stored on a new database, would be implemented if Labour wins a third term.

In a statement he said: "Labour's manifesto will confirm that the reintroduction of identity cards legislation will be an early priority after the election."

The introduction of ID cards has come in for considerable criticism, with opponents claiming the £3 billion scheme would infringe citizens' privacy and be ineffective against terrorism.

Ministers who favour the scheme say the cards would make life more difficult for terrorists and criminals and would stop illegal immigrants using services they are not entitled to.

In the rush to get legislation through ahead of the election, the Government also dropped plans to outlaw incitement to religious hatred and scaled back the super casino scheme.

Tags: