STEVE DOWNES<\/p>\n
03 September 2005 10:09<\/p>\n
Home Secretary Charles Clarke last night tried to breathe new life into his bid to introduce national identity cards and declared: “Big Brother society is already here and my job is to control it.”<\/p>\n
He told the EDP that the argument that cards would infringe civil liberties was “ridiculous” – and promised to present new proposals about the cost and make-up of the ID cards “within a couple of weeks”.<\/p>\n
He attacked the “Big Brother state” accusation head-on, insisting: “People’s names are already on a large number of databases.<\/p>\n
“Most of us have dozens of cards in our wallets with our identities on. We already have a Big Brother society.<\/p>\n
“ID cards mean identity fraud can be dealt with and stopped.<\/p>\n
“ID cards are a means of controlling the Big Brother society rather than creating it. Big Brother society is already here.”<\/p>\n
The Bill to introduce ID cards went through its Second Reading in the House of Commons with a majority of just 31 on June 28, with MPs in all parties anxious about civil liberties and the cost.<\/p>\n
Opponents are lining up to try to defeat the Government in the Bill’s later stages, and promising fierce opposition in the House of Lords if it does clear the Commons.<\/p>\n
A report from the London School of Economics (LSE) said the ID-card scheme could cost as much as \u00a319bn, or about \u00a3200 per person – a claim dismissed by Mr Clarke as “complete nonsense”.<\/p>\n
But in an interview with the EDP, he said: “Can we produce<\/p>\n
a scheme which is worth it on cost?<\/p>\n
“We’ve got a long way to go to persuade punters here in Norfolk and everywhere that they are a good thing.”<\/p>\n
Mr Clarke said he was a “militant supporter” of ID cards.<\/p>\n
He said: “The whole thing depends on using ID cards in a number of different areas of life, including Criminal Records Bureau applications, driving licences, passports.<\/p>\n
“It could reduce the number of cards you have in your pocket.<\/p>\n
“I think the civil liberties argument is ridiculous.<\/p>\n
“If we compare people’s right not to be blown up with their right to civil liberties it is not difficult.<\/p>\n
“No measure can absolutely guarantee to stop a particular event. But I believe ID cards will help. Most countries in Europe have ID cards.”<\/p>\n
He would not comment on how much the cards could cost, but said the LSE figures were “absurd”.<\/p>\n
“We have to remake the argument for ID cards. It needs to be re-articulated. The argument against is principally cost. I’m less preoccupied about the civil liberties issue.”<\/p>\n
The cards, which could be issued from 2008, are likely to include a photograph of the holder, along with their name, address, gender and date of birth. A microchip would also hold biometric information – a person’s fingerprints or iris or facial scans.<\/p>\n
Mr Clarke faces the busiest period since he took charge of the Home Office following David Blunkett’s resignation last December and is planning a series of speeches in the lead-up to the party conference season to unveil his key policies.<\/p>\n
He will talk to the European Union Parliament in Strasbourg on September 7 about the urgent need for cross-border co-operation to tackle international terror and crime.<\/p>\n
And the following week he will outline his plans to overhaul the judicial and prisons system at a speech to the Prison Reform Trust.<\/p>\n
His tray is full of unresolved issues, with the continued fallout from the London terror attacks, controversy over 24-hour licensing legislation and the never-ending arguments about immigration.<\/p>\n
Eastern Daily Press 3rd Sept 05<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" STEVE DOWNES 03 September 2005 10:09 Home Secretary Charles Clarke last night tried to breathe new life into his bid to introduce national identity cards and declared: “Big Brother society is already here and my job is to control it.” … Continue reading