Downing Street confirms draft ID bill will be published soon
Downing Street has reportedly confirmed that a draft bill on the proposed scheme for UK identity cards will be published shortly.
The prime minister’s official spokesman told reporters that provisional plans would be published ‘soon’ and explained that Tony Blair saw identity cards as a key weapon against international terrorism.
“As the prime minister said last week, there are logistical questions that still remain to be resolved and those are going to be worked on,” he said. “But at the same time, we will publish a draft Bill this session, soon. And Parliament will have its say.”
Britain’s top police officer recently backed calls for ID cards, insisting that they are necessary for security in Britain.
In a TV interview, Sir John Stevens, Metropolitan police commissioner, said: “Biometrics, the use of eyes, the use of fingerprints is now a certainty in a way that never was before so therefore identification either whether it be on border controls or whether we have to deal with stop and search in the street, anti-terrorism kind of activity or even along the normal way that police officers work would give a certainty we need.”
At his monthly news conference, Mr Blair declared that identity cards would be introduced “more quickly than even we anticipated” following the discovery of an al-Qaeda plot to attack Britain.
There is a continuing rift in the Cabinet over the issue of ID cards, with many key ministers opposed to the scheme.
On Sunday, Ms Hewitt said there had to be evidence that making ID cards compulsory had “additional benefits”.
Ms Hewitt’s concerns about ID cards are reportedly shared by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, and Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. However, the home secretary, David Blunkett, and the prime minister are keen to see them introduced.
It is understood that, once the Cabinet has approved the identity cards scheme, a report will be presented to parliament, and it will be included in a parliamentary order, which will go through in a single vote in both the Commons and Lords.
The legislation is expected to be introduced in the next session of parliament and cards could be made compulsory as soon as 2010.
