Blunkett told to delay moves to make scheme compulsory

Alan Travis, home affairs editor
Monday March 22, 2004
The Guardian

Four senior Labour ministers have warned the home secretary, David Blunkett, not to breach a cabinet agreement by accelerating the introduction of compulsory identity cards, it emerged yesterday.

Leaked cabinet correspondence shows that the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, the transport secretary, Alistair Darling, the chief secretary to the treasury, Paul Boateng, and the trade and industry secretary, Patricia Hewitt, have stressed a second bill should be passed before the scheme is made compulsory.

The draft legislation to introduce the national identity card scheme will specify what personal details will be held on the card as well as outlining privacy safeguards when it is published in the next few weeks.

It is expected that the card will carry minimal details and not include information such as the holder's criminal record or religious affiliation after warnings from the information commissioner, Richard Thomas.

The draft legislation, to be published before Easter, is intended to allow a full debate to take place on the details of the scheme before the substantial bill is introduced at the beginning of the new parliamentary session in the autumn.

Mr Blunkett wants to get the cards on the statute book before the general election.

Last November, in the face of strong cabinet scepticism about the scheme, the home secretary agreed to "proceed by incremental steps to build a base for a compulsory national ID card scheme".

It was made clear that a decision to move to a compulsory scheme was several years off, and would need separate cabinet approval.

But it now appears that the draft bill, as it stands, allows a compulsory scheme to be introduced after a simple vote of MPs and peers without the need for fresh legislation.

Because the majority of MPs and the public are in favour of ID cards, cabinet opponents of a compulsory scheme believe that in the current climate of fear over terrorism, the measure would easily be passed if all that was required was a simple Commons vote.

The letters, which were leaked to the Sunday Times, were dated the week before last and sent to the deputy prime minister, John Prescott, who chairs the cabinet's domestic affairs subcommittee.

In his letter Mr Straw said: "I should like to emphasise that the ID card scheme must be designed in a way that is compatible with our obligations under international law, in particular EU law."

The foreign secretary is believed to have told cabinet colleagues there was a "need to ensure that the draft bill is in line with what colleagues agreed earlier".

"I do not have the minutes of our discussions to hand, but my recollection is the same as Patricia [Hewitt]'s ... a bill of this kind would be seen to be focused on the introduction of a compulsory ID scheme," he said.

Mr Darling apparently said there was "a widespread feeling that a change of this significance and sensitivity will need a far fuller debate".

Mr Boateng added: "I remain concerned about compulsion - an issue that cuts to the core of the political and public acceptability of the scheme."

The cabinet statement issued last November said a final decision to proceed to a compulsory card would be taken "when the conditions for moving to a compulsory card are met".

"We will reserve the final decision on a move to compulsion until later this decade," it said.

The Madrid bombings are believed to have increased the pressure to accelerate the introduction of ID cards, alongside moves to exchange data on air passenger movements and create an EU border guard force.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The government position was set out in the home secretary's statement to the House [of Commons] last November, and in the Next Steps document published at the same time. Nothing has changed.

"We have no intention of providing a running commentary on private letters, that once again seem to have been passed to a particular Sunday newspaper."

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