Civil liberties and the 'war on terror' - 2004 and earlier - news archive

David Blunkett outlining the importance of ID cards....

"Civil liberties groups and privacy campaigners have called upon David Blunkett to shelve his plans for a national identity card in the wake of today's damning report from the Home Affairs Select Committee. A coalition of anti-ID card groups has pledged to defeat the proposals in Parliament should a Bill be put forward later this year. With senior Cabinet Ministers including Jack Straw and Patricia Hewitt known to be opposed to Blunkett's Plan, campaigners believe that if legislation can be held up until after the General Election, the ID cards may never see the light of day."

"Plans for introducing ID cards in the UK are poorly thought out and vital details are still unclear, say MPs. The Commons home affairs committee says ID cards should go ahead and can help fight organised crime and terrorism. But it criticises a "lack of clarity" over how the scheme will work in practice, with too much information kept secret by ministers."