Below is a quote from the Home Office website on ID cards and it uses the fact that most EU member states have them and that the EU want biometric data for passports to make it seem inevitable that we must also adopt them sooner or later.
The Government's decision to proceed with the introduction of a national identity cards scheme is based in part on the fact that we will have to introduce more secure personal identifiers (biometrics) into our passports and other existing documents in line with international requirements. Right across the world there is a drive to increase document security with biometrics. If our citizens are to continue to enjoy the benefits of international travel, as increasing numbers of them are doing we cannot be left behind. It is worth remembering that 21 of the 25 EU Member States (all apart from the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Latvia) have identity cards.
The Council of the European Union has expressed a desire to standardise ID cards across Europe and have mandatory fingerprinting for all EU citizens. The future French electronic ID card will include two biometrics and Sweden has just started issuing biometric ID cards. In order to make Britain part of the EU super-state the government must bring us into line with European norms. However, unlike most European countries, Britain has a proud record of respecting a law-abiding individual's liberty, (at least until recently). We British should not allow this barely elected government to throw one of our most fundamental common law traditions away, just to make it easier for Blair to integrate us into the coming EU super-state.
We British should not allow this barely elected government to throw one of our most fundamental common law traditions away, just to make it easier for Blair to integrate us into the coming EU super-state
__________________________________________________________
Ping