UK: Home Secretary abandons compulsory ID cards

British nationals will not be forced to carry identity cards after Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, scrapped plans to make the controversial £4.9 billion scheme compulsory.

In a significant climb down, Mr Johnson yesterday announced that the cards would only be issued to Britons on a voluntary basis.

The move raises the prospect of the scheme being abandoned altogether if no one takes them up.

The first attempt to impose compulsory ID cards on Britons – a pilot scheme involving airside workers – has now been scrapped. It had not even begun.

In his first major policy announcement as Home Secretary, Mr Johnson admitted the Government had exaggerated the benefits the cards would have in tackling the terror threat.

Instead the Government was now focusing on the advantages of the cards to young people, such as being able to prove they were old enough to buy alcohol.

Source/Full Story: Telegraph

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