10,000 set to carry ID cards in terror trial

THOUSANDS of people will start carrying identity cards next week in a major trial seen by the Home Office as central to countering the threat of terrorist attacks, it was revealed today.

The pilot will involve 10,000 volunteers and could be the first step towards compulsory identity cards being brought in within the next ten years.

Trials will be run from the Passport Office in London, as well as three other centres around Britain still to be announced.

The new ID cards will hold biometric details, including facial dimensions, an iris scan or fingerprints.

The pilot scheme will try to assess which of the three options works best.

The trial will gather biometric data from volunteers to create a foundation for a nationwide ID card scheme.

Civil servants have been taking part in tests for several months but this is the first time members of the public will undergo the procedures.

Ministers are due to set out details of plans for a nationwide identity database on Monday.

It is understood they will publish draft legislation about the cards, and Home Secretary David Blunkett has said he wants a Bill paving the way for the scheme to be passed before the next general election.

By 2012, it is estimated that 80 per cent of people will have the card or a combined driving licence or passport, and the Home Office hopes the scheme will be compulsory by 2014.

Blunkett’s plans are seen as key to Britain’s response to the threat posed by groups like al-Qaida and mounting pressure for a clampdown on illegal immigration.

The Home Secretary has the support of senior police officers who say it is a vital tool in the "war on terror".

And a MORI poll this week found 80 per cent of Britons support the cards.

It is estimated that "multiple" identities are used in more than one third of terrorism-related activities.

Carrying false identity papers is also to be made a specific offence for the first time under the plans, with offenders facing up to ten years in jail.

The move is designed to crack down on identity fraud, which costs the country an estimated 1.3 billion a year, ahead of Mr Blunkett’s national ID card scheme.

At present, offenders cannot be prosecuted for simply having false documents, and police have to establish their involvement in another offence such as people trafficking or fraud.

It has been suggested that the identity cards could cost upwards of 35 per person, though Mr Blunkett has said they would most likely be free for young people, with concessions for the elderly and those on low incomes.

He also said the biometric system proposed would end multiple identities and give a boost to the fight against terrorism and organised crime.

"What has anybody to worry about having their true identity known?" he said.

Neil Fisher, from QinetiQ, one of the companies developing the technology for the cards, agreed that the public would want to be able to prove their identity to show they were not a risk. "You will want this to be part of your life," he said.

"You will want, in what’s fast becoming a digital society, to be able to authenticate your identity almost for any transaction that you do, be it going to the bank, going to the shops or going to the airport."

Prime Minister Tony Blair indicated earlier this month that Britain would speed up the launch of compulsory ID cards following a series of arrests in anti-terror raids.

"I think the whole issue of identity cards, which a few years ago were not on anyone’s agenda, is very much on the political agenda here, probably more quickly even than we anticipated," he said.

Unlike most European countries, Britain’s last compulsory identity papers were abolished in 1952.

British citizens have previously only had to carry identity documents in war.

Civil liberties groups are opposed to the plans, claiming that having a number of means of identification, such as a passport, driving licence or benefit card, was still the safest option.

They also predicted the cards could worsen race discrimination, particularly as foreign nationals will have to carry the cards before Britons do.

Campaign group Liberty said evidence from other European countries suggested ID cards were "expensive, ineffective and damage community relations".