Minister admits ‘overselling’ ID cards
The Home Office minister in charge of pushing ID cards through parliament has apologised for “overselling” the advantages of the controversial scheme.
In an apparent step back from the scheme, Tony McNulty admitted the cards’ benefits in terms of tackling terrorism, immigration and benefit fraud may have been “oversold”.
Home secretary Charles Clarke admitted in the immediate aftermath of the London bombings of July 7th that ID cards would not have stopped the bombers, although he said they would have made it harder for them to hide behind false identities.
Mr McNulty told a private seminar in Whitehall last night ID cards would help where identity fraud was an issue, but said: “Perhaps in the past the government in its enthusiasm oversold the advantages of identity cards.
“We did suggest, or at least implied, that they may well be a panacea for identity fraud, benefit fraud, terrorism, and entitlement and access to public services.”
He continued: “I think, maybe in the past, we were offering the system as a panacea to all these ills when it will help and benefit each one, but is not going to solve any one of them.”
Mr McNulty suggested the government had spent too much time arguing what the scheme could do for the state rather than stressing the benefits it would bring to the individual.
“We have been arguing what the state can get out of it rather than what it can do for the individual in providing a gold standard of protecting your identity. This is our fault,” he said.
“There are now so many, almost daily occasions, when we have to stand up and verify our identity.”
But he insisted the government would push ahead with the ID cards legislation currently going through parliament, saying the scheme would “help rather than hinder” in the search for particular terrorists.
Mr McNulty accepted, however, that attempts to make ID cards compulsory in seven or eight years could end in parliamentary deadlock.
“Perhaps we ran away with it in our enthusiasm,” he admitted. “I apologise for our overselling the case for ID cards.”
