Blunkett admits his enthusiasm for universal ID cards

David Blunkett announced plans for Britain's first universal identity card system in 50 years yesterday and admitted he was unable to disguise his own enthusiasm for the idea.

Dogged by claims from the French government that the absence of ID cards is at the heart of Britain's immigration problems and haunted by identity frauds costing £1.3bn a year, the Home Secretary is convinced that the scheme is the solution.

He published a consultation document yesterday which includes voluntary and universal options for the "entitlement cards". Although the Home Office has ruled out making it compulsory to carry ID cards, the paper set out the Government's "suggested scheme" in which everyone in Britain would be required to be entered on a central register or be excluded from basic services.

The scheme would cost between £1.3bn and £3.2bn, depending on its level of sophistication, and would be funded by increased charges for passports and driving licences.

The Home Office believes that by building the entitlement cards into newly issued driving licences or passports it can make the scheme self-funding. Of the 51 million UK residents who would require entitlement cards, some 38 million already hold driving licences and 44 million have British passports. Poorer sections of the population, who may not possess these documents, could register for "non-driving licence entitlement cards" free of charge. But to do this the cost of passports and driving licences would have to increase by up to £18 for a simple ID scheme or by up to £30 for a more sophisticated scheme with features that would deter fraudsters. Passports and driving licences currently cost £30 and £29 respectively.

The "smart'' version of the card would include "biometric'' information about the holder, including fingerprint and iris details, as well as name, date and place of birth, address, signature, their photograph and national insurance number.

Mr Blunkett said: "As criminals become increasingly sophisticated at stealing or forging identities we have to position ourselves to respond using biometrics and cutting-edge technology as one way to defeat them."

In the consultation document, the Home Office claims "the UK is increasingly a card carrying society".

The Home Secretary said credit-card fraud in France, which already has an ID system, was one sixth of the level in Britain. He said: "I am not going to disguise my own enthusiasm for an entitlement card system, but it is for the public to decide whether or not this is something they would see as useful and making their lives easier."

Civil liberties campaigners have already accused the Government of deliberately floating the idea of identity cards in the confusion that followed the attacks on 11 September.

Mike O'Brien, a former Home Office minister, has claimed that compulsory cards would not help in the fight against terrorism and that they would be easily reproduced by forgers. Some observers sensed lack of support for the idea among senior members of government after it was revealed that the idea of financing an identity card programme through the taxpayer was not being considered.

The last compulsory ID scheme was scrapped in 1952 because it was deemed to be ineffective and damaging to the relationship between the police and the public.

Panacea or an expensive mistake?

Details on the card

Name, address, date and place of birth, unique personal number, national insurance number, nationality, sex, photograph, signature, validity date of card and issuer, employment status, fingerprint and iris details.

Claimed benefits

1 Combating identity fraud, which costs Britain £1.3bn a year. Drawback: Organised crime likely to produce counterfeit versions.

2 Providing better services. Card would cut delays and assist benefits and healthcare provision. Drawback: People might be denied important services if cards are lost or stolen. Civil liberties fears that government departments would share information.

3 Tackling illegal working and illegal immigration. Drawback: Would not stop unscrupulous employers hiring cheap labour.

4 Reducing crime. Could fight money laundering by identifying bank customers. Drawbacks: Criminals will be unlikely to carry the cards.

5 Electoral Registration and Voting. It might help to maintain the electoral register. Drawback: Some entitlement card holders might be non-EU nationals who have no voting rights.