UK ID card scheme 'will be back'

The home secretary has pledged to stand by the ID cards bill if re-elected as opposition parties reject claims they have 'killed' the legislation

The government's identity card bill, which will not become law ahead of the general election, would be resurrected should Labour win, home secretary Charles Clarke confirmed yesterday.

Clarke blamed the Conservatives for preventing the legislation going through parliament before the election and claimed the opposition party had "decided to kill it". But he said that the government is confident it can push it through if re-elected.

"We believe we can carry the ID card bill," he told BBC's Newsnight programme. "We believe there's wide support… but there was a big wobble on the Tory side."

"The Lib Dems had not faced up to what was required when we made a number of proposals to try and encourage them to agree," he added.

George Osborne, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, denied his party was acting against the interests of national security in scrutinising the bill.

"This is one of the most important issues. It deserves proper scrutiny there are very serious issues about the practicability and the costs…we have very serious concerns which have not been addressed in Parliament," he said.

"The Labour party has had eight years of government, with the biggest party majority in living memory and they have had plenty of time to push the legislation through."

Lib Dem party chair Matthew Taylor said the government had dropped the bill because of mounting concerns among the public.

"They talk about ID cards because they think it is popular with the electorate," he said. "Once the electorate find out how much they cost and that they don't work, they will find that it's not quite so popular and it has to go out of the window."