Don’t be fooled. The ID card has not gone away

Holding an identity card should be a personal choice for British citizens — just as it is now to obtain a passport. Accordingly, I want the introduction of identity cards for all British citizens to be voluntary

Alan Johnson, Home Secretary – 1st July 2009

We will reduce the information British citizens have to give for the new biometric passport to no more than that required for today's passport. And so conference, I can say to you today, in the next parliament there will be no compulsory ID cards for British citizens

Gordon Brown, Prime Minister – 29th September 2009

Following Alex's very well-received blogpost summing up our opposition to body scanners – and a number of new stories from this week – I thought it would be useful to provide a list of the numerous ways in which a government supposedly committed to 'personal choice' on identity has pushed, cajoled and coerced the nation into applying for an ID card.

If you are over 60 and want a bus pass – Pensioners could be forced to carry identity cards to qualify for free bus travel

If you are poor and bank at RBS and Lloyds – Meg Hillier said companies might offer to buy the £30 cards
for people who wouldn’t pay for them otherwise

Or if you are just poor – Home Office minister Meg Hillier argues ID cards can provide the foundation for fairer access to services and opportunities

If you work at an airport – All staff who work 'airside' are eligible to get a free card as part of the regional roll-out of the ID cards scheme

If you are aged 18-24 and live in London (and want to buy alcohol) – Meg Hillier said People aged 18 to 24 will be able to spend £30 on a biometric photocard that can be used to prove their age when buying alcohol or age-restricted goods or to gain entry to a nightclub

If you are a Premiership footballer or 'skilled migrant' – The Home Office said that from January 6 skilled migrants would have to apply for identity cards when their visas expired. This further roll-out of the plans was brought forward from April

If you are a civil servant – Phil Woolas, the Immigration minister, faced ridicule last night after announcing that his own civil servants would be the first Britons to be issued with identity cards

When applying for a CRB check – Millions could be asked to provide ID card and fingerprint data to get a job under new systems being developed by the Home Office following a collapse in the accuracy of background checks

And finally…to prevent identity fraud and terrorism – Alan Johnson: We need identity cards, and soon

And the areas this 'non-compulsory' scheme has been 'rolled out'…

Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Berwick and Northumberland – Identity cards could be introduced across the North-East by the end of the year, it has been revealed

Birmingham and Warwick – Identity cards are to be issued in Birmingham, the Home Office has announced

Lancashire – Identity cards are to be rolled out across Lancashire in the New Year

Cheshire – ID card scheme rolled out in Cheshire

London - London is about to see the roll-out of the latest stage of the government's identity card scheme

Manchester – Residents of Greater Manchester will be the first British citizens able to apply for a voluntary ID card

And…our friendly, neighbourhood Post Office – Post Office co-opted to hasten ID card rollout

This list is probably not comprehensive, BUT don't let anyone – Minister, politician, Joe Public – ever tell you the ID card scheme has gone away. The Government is trying every trick in the political playbook to press identity cards into the hands of a deeply skeptical general public.

We must not let them. Go to www.no2id.net to read more.

By Dylan Sharpe