More on ID cards

Today's Guardian reports that the cost of introducing ID cards has crept up again, this time by another £50 million. This is no great surprise. I expect it to rise quite significantly between now and when it is finally introduced, assuming that the Government are able to get that far with it.

What is perhaps more interesting is the hidden cost to the ordinary person in the street of acquiring one of these cards. The government believe that they can sell the cards at £30 each however that does not take account of the cost to each individual of having their fingerprints and other biometric data taken which would be around £29. This charge will also apply to anyone wanting a new passport.

So this whole new regime effectively amounts to a laminated poll tax of £59 a head, payable by everybody once the inevitable decision is taken to make these cards compulsory. Even if we are not forced to have a card the cost of getting a passport will go up. And yet there is still no evidence that any of this will actually improve our security or policing one iota.