BRITAIN:THE BRITISH Conservatives have accused home secretary Jacqui Smith of misleading the public with an offer of "choice" while pursuing a system of compulsory ID cards "by spin and by stealth".
The charge came from shadow home secretary David Davis after Ms Smith outlined changes to the government's planned identity scheme, while signalling that citizens would have the option of choosing biometric passports or driving licences instead.
In a major speech at Demos in London yesterday, Ms Smith said: "All new passports will begin to be entered on the national identity register from 2009, and I believe it is right that individuals should have a choice of how they represent their entry on the register. That could be through an identity card or a biometric passport. Most, of course, will wish to do both, because of the added convenience of having a card. In time it could even be through a driving licence. The important thing for everyone on the national identity register is that their unique identity details are locked to one person - themselves."
Ms Smith's refinement of the government's plans comes amid some polling evidence of falling public support for the scheme in light of recent high-profile government data losses, and her announcement yesterday was hailed "a complete U-turn" by Liberal Democrat spokesman Chris Hulne.
Mr Davis maintained: "The government is contriving to implement, by spin and by stealth, its now utterly discredited plan for ID cards."
As Ms Smith confirmed she expected the "full roll-out" of ID cards to happen by 2017, Mr Davis insisted: "The home secretary's claim that she is offering people a choice is misleading - identity cards will still be compulsory. Her suggestion that there won't be a central database is pure spin - personal details will still be clustered on a national identity register, a sitting target for criminal hackers and terrorists."
The government had lost the argument, Mr Davis went on: "They have lost 25 million personal records. And they have lost the public's trust. It's time they faced up to these stark truths - and ditched ID cards for good."
However, Ms Smith said the latest analysis showed public support for the government's proposals remaining broadly steady - at nearly 60 per cent - even after the government data losses.
And she declared: "I am convinced that our increased awareness as a nation of the dangers of data loss and identity fraud makes the case for participation in the national identity scheme more pressing, rather than less."
The government will start issuing compulsory biometric identity cards for foreign nationals coming to work and study in the UK from November, and the first identity cards for British citizens will follow next year.
People working in airports will be among 200,000 citizens working in "sensitive" positions for whom the cards will be required by 2009, with a voluntary scheme for students coming into force in 2010 and fingerprinting for biometric passports now delayed until 2011/12.