London youth ID cards are 'Big Brother by the back door'

2.04.15pm GMT Fri 29th Jan 2010

Islington Lib Dems Bridget Fox, Farhana Hoque, Cllr Marisha Ray & Cllr Emily Fieran-Reed joined the protest against ID Cards

As the Labour Government prepares to roll out ID cards to young people in London, beginning with a voluntary scheme starting on 1 February, Islington's Liberal Democrat councillors have stated that Islington Council will never require a UK National Identity Card to access council services or benefits under the Lib Dems.

The Labour Government is offering young people in London ID cards for £30, selling them as a proof-of-age for clubbing.

But local Liberal Democrats are reminding young people that registering for a card means being tracked for life by the largest Government database system in the world. Once people have signed up to the National Identity Register, they also have a legal obligation under the Identity Cards Act to update information for the rest of their lives, or face fines of up to £1,000.

The cards could also be target for forgery by fraudsters, criminals and terrorists seeking to disguise their true identities.

The Home Office expects the cost of the introduction of ID cards to be £4.74bn over 10 years, not including costs incurred by organizations such as benefit offices and hospitals for equipment to use the cards. Setting up and rolling out ID cards is already costing the UK taxpayer £100,000 a day.

Liberal Democrat council leader Terry Stacy said:

"We were told that ID cards would fight terrorism, crime, and illegal immigration. Now the desperate Labour Government is touting them as a multi-billion pound way of helping students get into bars. The increasingly desperate sales pitch is just trying to soften us up for the database state - it's like Big Brother by the back door.

"ID Cards should be scrapped now. Under the Lib Dems they will never be required to access council services or benefits in Islington, and we will not take part in any Government pilot scheme."