December 5, 2004

If the current Identity Cards Bill is passed, remember that appealing against decisions involved is a crime. Well, not quite. Even though most of the monster fines – up to £2,500 a time if your card fails to swipe properly and is considered “damaged” – will be treated as a “civil penalty” rather like an…

Among the portfolio of accusations against David Blunkett, there is one I suspect is the most significant of the lot but hasn’t got the ink it deserves. In accordance with the best Labour traditions, of course, it’s also one of the matters that the Home Office’s self-investigation doesn’t cover. Mind you, the Sunday Torygraph did…

Chris Lightfoot runs a detailed critique of the ID Cards Bill, and pulls up exactly what I did on Tuesday. That is, the Bill’s killer clauses that give the Government powers to force us to carry the cards (despite their denials), to force us to show them to use the NHS, public education and social…