From: "Owen Blacker (Stand)" <owen@stand.org.uk>
To: Guardian Letters <letters@guardian.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 16:11:52 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Letter for Publication

For Publication

Sir,

We at Stand.org.uk were both surprised and disappointed to note that the
Guardian has made no mention of the Cabinet memo, leaked over the
weekend, regarding David Blunkett's proposal for compulsory ID cards for
all British residents, with a price tag of at least £39 per person.

This matter is provoking no little amount of debate elsewhere and we are
pleased to recall that the Guardian was one of the many newspapers
pointing out some of the flaws in Blunkett's original "Entitlement
Cards" consultation when it was launched around a year ago.

After the controversy caused by the Home Office's misleading statements
that could lead one to conclude that they were trying to ignore the
thousands of anti-ID card responses sent through our www.stand.org.uk
portal before the concept of any price was mention, it might be timely
to remind the Home Secretary that our 64-page report on ID cards,
submitted as our response to the consultation, is available from our
website.

Not only would the introduction of such a scheme be the effective
imposition of a "police state poll tax", levying a new tariff against
everyone resident in Britain, at a rate many believe to be
underestimated, but we were alarmed and entertained to note some of the
claims Blunkett made to his Cabinet colleagues in the memo.

The Home Secretary claimed that "we are strengthened in our liberty if
our identity is protected from theft; if we are able to access the
services we are entitled to; and if our community is better protected
from terrorists and organised criminals".

Whilst all these points are true, he fails to note that the introduction
of an ID card scheme could well INCREASE the risk of having our
identities stolen and, as he admitted in the House himself, would make
no difference whatsoever to terrorism and organised crime (particularly
if, not being obliged to carry them at all times, we only have to report
to a police station within two weeks, like with drivers' licences; we
suspect that terrorists might not bother, somehow).  Furthermore, the
main reason we would be unable to access government-provided services
without an ID card would be if the scheme required it.  It is obvious,
then, that these are all false wins.

Despite the Home Secretary's flagrant courting of populist tabloid
issues, it still seems as though the vast majority of the British public
is against any ID card scheme, at any price.  We would call on all
members of the Cabinet to reject this expensive and ineffective idea.

Yours,

[signed]

Owen Blacker, volunteer at Stand.org.uk, owen@stand.org.uk (London, GB)
James Cronin, volunteer, james@stand.org.uk (London, GB)
Yoz Grahame, volunteer, yoz@stand.org.uk (London, GB)
Cait Hurley, volunteer, cait@stand.org.uk (London, GB)
Manar Hussein, volunteer, manar@stand.org.uk (London, GB)
Malcolm Hutty, volunteer, malcolm@stand.org.uk (London, GB)
Tom Loosemore, volunteer, tom@stand.org.uk (London, GB)
Stefan Magdalinski, volunteer, stefan@stand.org.uk (London, GB)
Danny O'Brien, volunteer, danny@stand.org.uk (San Jose, California, US)
Alaric Snell, volunteer, alaric@stand.org.uk (London, GB)
Stuart Tily, volunteer, stuart@stand.org.uk (London, GB)