So it looks like the old ID card chestnut is back in the fire again. This time the big justification is “identity theft”, but, as with terrorism, immigration, and organised crime before, the home office fail to explain how the new card will actually solve the problem.
In fact, won’t ID cards actually make it easier for someone to perpetuate identity theft? Once the system is introduced, instead of having to go to the trouble of obtaining all sorts of personal information in order to fake someone’s identity, your identity thieving needs will be fulfilled by one simple card, which, once forged, will enable you to do all sorts of things like open bank accounts, obtain credit cards, and so on.
Interesting to note, also, that they aren’t even bothering to pretend any more that the cards will in some way be voluntary–Blunketts was always banging on about “Entitlement Cards”, but somehow they’ve now become “a secure compulsory national identity cards scheme”. No surprises there, I suppose.
(El Reg has some very interesting points to make about this here).