Off to Prison I go : (

10.46.26am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 30th Mar 2006

no2id logo - the anti-identity card (id card) and national identity database campaign

Well the Conservatives have let me down and I'll no doubt be arrested, convicted and sent to prison. Yes that is right the Conservatives in the House of Lords have allowed the ID Card legislation to pass by supporting a so-called compromise that will ensure I still end up in prison. Only the Liberal Democrats voted against the Government.

You will have to register your personal details on a national database but can opt-out of the actual Identity Card bit. This is not acceptable, even having to register ones details on the database is still far beyond what I and many others believe is acceptable - I have still not been give a reason why this needs to happen - it will not prevent terrorism, crime or fraud and will cost a huge amount of money as well as a complete invasion of my (and everyone elses) civil liberties.

In addition to this it also appears the Government never intended Identity Cards to be voluntary. Radio 4 had an interview yesterday with Labour Minister Andy Burnham about ID cards, he was asked about the whole business of linking them with passports effectively making them compulsory.. and he said the plan had always been to make them compulsory. John Humpreys was silenced in amazement, last year and at the General Election Labour said they wanted a voluntary scheme, yet again another Labour lie.

Under the compromise people who apply for new or renewed passports before January 1 2010 will have their names put on the new national identity register establishing the scheme, but will not be required to accept an ID Card until that date. I may 'lose' my passport next week and apply for a new ten year passport before they can get there system up and running to give myself extra time and maybe two or three General Elections before I will have to have an ID Card but when we may have abandoned the scheme!