UK Scraps National ID Card Scheme
The United Kingdom is scrapping their Idendity Cards, introduced in 2006 by the Labour Government. Comment by Conservative MP and Immigration Minister Damian Green:
The ID card was launched with fantastic claims about supposed benefits. In truth, it represented the worst of government. The first duty of government is to ensure its citizens are protected, but ID cards could never have done that. They would have been a distraction from the real work that needs to be done in countering terrorism, illegal immigration or benefit fraud.
The law paves the way for the secure destruction of the national identity register. Photographs, fingerprints and personal information that were submitted as part of the application process for an ID card will be destroyed within two months. ID cards will no longer be valid for travel and identity verification purposes within one month. Only around 12,000 members of the public signed up for a card, showing the lack of enthusiasm for the scheme, despite the intense propaganda campaign from the Labour government.