Letter: Danger to ethnic minorities from identity cards

Sir: Your leading article ('A question of identification', 13 August) rightly says that the introduction of identity cards is unlikely to do much to deter crime. But to say there could be no principled objection to introducing them as part of a deal that permitted open borders in the European Community is questionable on two counts.

First, the notion of a deal does not arise. The EC makes no demand whatever for identity cards: this is a matter for the internal jurisdiction of each state. It is the British government that has put about the idea that ID cards must necessarily be introduced if internal border controls are relaxed. Britain agreed that these controls would be lifted by the end of 1992 when our representatives signed the Single European Act and Parliament ratified this decision in 1986.

Now the Government is trying to evade its own legal obligation, using arguments that the European Commission has rejected. If any deal is done on border controls, ID cards will play no part in the transaction, which will be concerned entirely with what happens at border points.

Second, the Government's claim that any relaxation of border controls would, from Britain's point of view, necessitate ID cards is disingenuous. Large powers exist already under the Immigration Act 1971 for police and immigration officers to check on people's immigration status inside the country, and an ID card would provide no instant information on such status.

In my personal view, a card scheme would merely provide an exercise for temporary detention and questioning, and the lack of a card would raise suspicions which in most cases would be quite unjustified. It is naive to suppose that terrorists and criminals will not furnish themselves with respectable-looking identification documents, just as it is unrealistic to expect that several million people in the poorest and most vulnerable groups in Britain will dutifully obtain cards under a voluntary scheme.

As to the effect on ethnic minorities, it is of the first importance to take this seriously. In France, which has had ID cards for some time, anti-racist groups are now campaigning for their abolition because of the way police have used identity checks.

There is widespread fear among minorities in Britain of an ID system on the analogy of the old South African pass laws. People who feel secure themselves may say this is absurd, but they need to imagine what it is like to be comparatively poor, virtually powerless and a possible target at any time for racial violence, abuse or discrimination.

The better-off in our society find it an advantage to be able to identify themselves with pieces of plastic in daily transactions, and do not see an extra card as a threat. But they are just the people who would not need to worry if they had to reply: 'Sorry, officer, I don't seem to have my ID card on me.'

Yours faithfully,

ANN DUMMETT

Oxford

14 August