We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to cancel the introduction of the government's Identity Card scheme (Adam Teladia)

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to cancel the introduction of the government's Identity Card scheme

November 13, 2007 12:02 AM

As people who know me will be aware I am opposed to the UK government's plans to introduce identity cards.

I have taken this position because I believe that the billions of pounds that will be spent on introducing and maintaining this Identity Card scheme could easily be spent on other means of fighting crime, fraud and terrorism.

The existence of a single definitive identity register may make it easier for people to assume a false identity potentially increasing fraud and identity theft and as David Blunkett the former Homes Secretary said Identity Card will not stop terrorism, the existence of identity cards in Spain did not prevent the Madrid train bombings.

Earlier this year an investigation by BBC 'File On 4' showed there were substantial problems with the national identity cards scheme. Sixteen months after passing the legislation, James Hall, head of the Identity cards programme, admitted that despite spending over £72 million the scheme was still not ready for tender. Mr Hall's department did not even know "the precise details of how we deliver this". Mr Hall also suggested that the final price tag would be much higher than the government's estimate of £5.5 billion.

In March 2007 the Daily Mail mentioned the Government is planning to sell access to the personal data once the identity cards scheme has been introduced and Professor John Daugman of Cambridge University has said that the system, billed by ministers as infallible, will have errors as high as 1 in 1000 by the time just 10% of the UK population are enrolled, meaning there will be thousands of false matches. Professor John Daugman also said "For the scheme as a whole it means that it can no longer deliver the goal of one citizen, one identity".

Earlier this week I signed a petition on the Number 10 website which calls on the Prime Minister to cancel the introduction of the government's Identity Card scheme and I have sent a letter to my local MP Khalid Mahmood asking him to do the same.

I would also encourage others opposed to the UK government's plans to introduce identity cards in UK to sign the petition on the Number 10 website (link below), write to their MP asking them to call on the Prime Minister to cancel the introduction of the government's Identity Card scheme and if they are registered users of facebook to join the NO2Id and I am willing to risk prison by refusing to sign up for an ID card groups (links below).