All Orwell got wrong was the date ....

[Margaret Pilkington]

Greg, I wouldn't be so worried about ID cards if I thought I wasn't going to be forced to carry one....but if the current government is allowed to have its way then we will be pushed into having one to get a passport....tell me why do we need both......and as far as combatting identity fraud, well I don't believe these measure will do anything for that....well, except if your identity is stolen from one of these cards(remember crooks and criminals manage to get round most things) then you are really stuffed. As Entwisi says you can always cancel bank and credit cards and get new ones. The government holds quite enough information about us all anyway...thay can always find me to extract their dues and taxes.

[pendy]

Originally Posted by Greg Pope

Hi

I think there's a danger of getting carried away here. I've seen the original e-mail that triggered this off and it is wrong in so many respects that I thought it was a spoof.

The main point of the ID card system isn't to combat terrorism, although it may help that at the margins, but to combat identity fraud which is a real and growing problem. We are all carrying around with us far more information about ourselves which is held by private companies than the ID card will hold - just think about credit cards, bank cards or store loyalty cards.

Perhaps Greg would tell us how and where the article is wrong. I for one would welcome any reassurance on this, and I'm sure many other people would, too.

Entwisi is right about implementation, God help us all if the contract for this is given to Capita - the whole system will be completely messed up from the start.

The fact remains that, whatever information is kept on file at various organisations, this will be a central database covering EVERY aspect of our lives - with the possible prospect of becoming a "non-person" if you get something wrong - and who is to know what will eventually become wrong?

Identity fraud is increasing, yes, but we can all do something about it. A home shredder costs less than a tenner, and we routinely shred all our bank slips and documents at home. ID cards will not stop terrorism, our own home-grown terrorists will all have them, and will obviously take pains to keep their noses clean - they're hardly likely to nip to the local Tesco for a pound or two of Semtex.

I am still extremely concerned.

[those were the days]

I to am against ID cards, as already mentioned they wil not stop terroism, but also the expense of them, isn`t it ninety three pound at moment the figure quoted? and why do they want so much information about us? also if all that information held was hacked into by the "wrong people" that could cause even more problems.

And what about our basic human liberties, to go about our lives as we wish without having to stop and show an expensive ID card, with a lovely scan of our eye on it for almost every aspect of our lives. shopping, medical care, etc.. Hmm are we going back to the restraints of the war years, is my history correct that after the wars people were rejoicing at tearing up their ID cards, and that is without the biometric data that "they" want today!

I to would love to know the PROPER reasons that government want ID cards so bad, even the House of Lords have been against the Identity Card Bill, not just the "common" folk.. but of course they cannot stop Parliament, only delay them imbetween readings, as with the Terroism Acts. I saw a good quote on a website regarding ID cards and the government:

"Government should exist to protect the weak from those who violate the laws of the land, NOT to catalogue us like a farmer stamps his livestock."

Sorry, i`ve gone on a bit! i`ll get of my soapbox now......

But would love to hear reassurances on this etc..as said by Pendy and others