Blunkett pressing on with ID card plans

David Blunkett will go on the offensive today when he lays out controversial plans for a national biometric ID card to MPs in Parliament.

The plans have not only attracted the criticism of many civil rights organisations but also members of the cabinet, including Gordon Brown and Jack Straw, who believe the project has the potential to fail spectacularly.

But Blunkett claims public consultations show strong support for a card that would include basic personal information, a digital photo, a piece of biometric information such an iris or fingerprint scan, or facial recognition.

The card scheme, which is expected to be included in the Queen's speech, will be phased in over a number of years and will take the form of a biometric passport for UK citizens – increasing the cost of a passport from £42 to £77.

The UK is already working on upgrading passports to include chips containing biometric data, to meet international travel requirements for entry into the USA.

The UK Passport Service is also due to begin a six-month biometric pilot to test face, iris and fingerprint capture and recognition and it is likely a national ID card scheme would be 'piggybacked' onto that.

EU and foreign nationals coming into the country for more than three months will have to pay for a biometric residence permit.

Blunkett said most adults would have an ID card by 2013 and they would become compulsory thereafter if approved by Parliament.

The ID cards will be used to tackle the illegal immigrants issue and health tourism, help in the fight against terrorism and prevent identity theft, according to Blunkett.

Blunkett said: "An ID card scheme will help tackle the crime and serious issues facing the UK, particularly illegal working, immigration abuse, ID fraud, terrorism and organised crime. The implementation of this scheme will begin as soon as the legislative framework and technology have been put in place to issue the card for the renewal of first passports and then driving licences.

Public responses to the government's consultation last year showed that 62 per cent of people are in favour of ID cards, although opponents point to the fact that 5,000 responses were discarded because they were sent through an anti-ID card website.

"Criminals are increasingly sophisticated and we need to keep one step ahead by making the best use of new technology. A high-tech, secure ID card scheme is the logical next step to meeting these challenges, and to prepare Britain for the future," said Blunkett.

Given the government's track record on IT there will be a lot of attention paid to the national secure database that will be needed to store the data from the card and confirm identity.