How will identity cards help?
Advocates say they will streamline police investigations by offering immediate proof of identity, in a uniform format. They would help identify illegal immigrants – or at least those who do not have a forged ID card. They could also be used, as in France, as “citizen’s access cards” proving entitlement to public services and benefits. If issued to minors, they could be a useful means of checking the sale of alcohol, tobacco and other items to children. What do critics say about ID cards? It is said that they will give police unprecedented powers to stop and question citizens, and that it could clog the courts with defendants whose only crime is not to carry the card. Won’t they be madly unpopular? Twenty years ago, there would have been an outcry. Now there is surging support for ID cards. An opinion poll in yesterday’s News of the World suggests that 86% of British people now favour compulsory identity cards. Wouldn’t terrorists and criminals just forge them? That’s one fear. Another
