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ID Card bill has passed critical stages in Parliament. We should be worried. Here is why:

The new ID Card will be unlike any other bit of ID you hold. It is the key to a National Identity Register (NIR) that will give you a unique number, and will hold images of your fingerprints, a scan of the back of your eye, and your photograph (you will have to turn up at the authorities’ convenience to be fingerprinted, scanned, and photographed).

Your name, address, and date of birth will be stored there, and you will have to inform the authorities if you move. There is plenty of space on the database to capture other information on you too, and ministers will be able to add new details without going back to Parliament.

The government says it will not be compulsory to carry the card, but in fact it will be essential for everyday living. Card readers will be everywhere. They will help stores check ID fraud when people pay by credit card, and banks when people withdraw cash. Pubs, discos, and traders selling alcohol or cigarettes will want to swipe your card to make sure you are not under age, so they do not get fined.

All these swipes could provide a detailed record of where you are at any time. Buy a mobile phone or a London Transport Oyster Card and that will enable the authorities to track who you talk to and where you travel to. Likewise if you set up an internet account or an ordinary phone line. Buy groceries and your data are instantly allied to your Nectar card or credit card, so all of your purchases can be traced as well. Pick up your prescription at the chemist and you will show up again.

There will be no escape. Refuse to be fingerprinted, scanned and photographed, and you will not get a new passport, your pension, or your social benefits. If the Home Secretary decides to revoke your card, you become a non-person, unable to draw money or even buy cigarettes, until your status is restored. Bureaucrats who are in charge of this information will be obvious targets for blackmail or bribery from anyone who wants to dig up dirt on you. All they need is your ID number.

Of course, ID Cards in Spain did not stop the Madrid bombing. But then who ever said this was all about controlling terrorism? Oh yes, the government did. But you did not really believe that, did you? It’s about controlling us.

Do us all a favour. Pass this on to your friends.

From Dr Eamonn Butler The Adams Smith Blog