Britain's Lower House Passes ID Card Bill

LONDON (AP) - Britain's lower chamber of Parliament voted on Monday to require all citizens who want a passport to have a national identity card as well - a compromise on a measure that originally required all Britons to carry a national ID card.

Hours before the vote, the government backed down on plans to require ID cards for anyone living in the United Kingdom.

The compromise bill passed the House of Commons 310-279 and now goes to the upper chamber, the House of Lords. Lawmakers hope the bill will become law by 2008.

In pushing for the cards, Prime Minister Tony Blair's government said they would allow people to prove their identity, prevent identity theft and offer a secure way of identifying people for national security.

Government leaders have referenced the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in calling for national ID cards. Treasury chief Gordon Brown recently said that Mohammed Atta, the leader of the attacks, used false ID while moving around the United States.

"It is a protection of people's individual civil liberties that we do not allow easily people to multiply their identities or operate on false identities," he said.

Blair has said ID cards bearing biometric data like electronic fingerprints or iris scans "have an important role to play in fighting serious crime and terrorism and tackling illegal immigration."

Source: Associated Press

 

We have only 2 more years before our National ID card goes into effect!