Govt Receives ID Card Backing

Govt Receives ID Card Backing	28 Jan 2008
68% of the UK security industry has backed the Government’s plans to introduce compulsory ID cards for UK citizens, according to a poll carried out by IFSEC. This result comes just a week after Gordon Brown vowed to "move ahead" with identity cards, subject to a vote in Parliament. The Government says ID cards will help protect people from identity fraud, tackle illegal immigration, stop people who are not eligible from using public services and disrupt criminal and terrorist activities. The plan has faced strong opposition from rival political parties, the media and human rights activists. James Blue, Event Director IFSEC, said “With the threat of terrorism still high, instances of identity theft rising and the vast extent of illegal immigration in the UK at the moment, it seems more and more people are coming round to the idea of ID cards. Many other European countries already have official ID cards, and it seems the security industry here are behind the scheme.”