The Conservative-Liberal Democrat government has confirmed that it will scrap the ID cards scheme and the National Identity Register.
"Applications can continue to be made for ID cards, but we would advise anyone thinking of applying to wait for further announcements," the Home Office said in a note on its website on Wednesday.
Wednesday was the first day of the new government, a coalition between the Tories and Lib Dems that was formed after last week's election resulted in a hung parliament.
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"Both parties that now form the new government stated in their manifestos that they will cancel identity cards and the National Identity Register," the Home Office note said. "We will announce in due course how this will be achieved."
For now, those ID cards that have been issued remain valid and can be used for travel within Europe. However, the Home Office noted that this is only the case "until parliament agrees otherwise".
"We will update you with further information as soon as we have it," the note concluded. ZDNet UK asked for more details from Conservative Central Office on Wednesday, but had received none at the time of writing.
ID cards were first proposed by the then Labour government in 2006, although by 2010 they had seen a very limited rollout, mainly to foreign nationals. The National Identity Register, which underpins the scheme, went live in late 2009.
Talkback
How can we now control the illegal immigration and keep track of the legals if we do not have an ID system. I fully belive that the ID card should also serve as an entitlement card.
No card b=-no NHS. No card no access to public stransport, no access to services, no DHSS benefits. Without this we are all at risk from the Talebs.
Thank goodness for that! Another ill-thought out, ineffective, expensive attempt to intrude on our privacy by a discredited manipulative ex-government which has finally been put down as all mad ideas should. It would never have controlled immigration or terrorism. We have current identities which provide all the proof we need for what we do, passport, driving licence etc and most importantly, we have the CHOICE whether we want to get them or not.
I read a very interesting article a while back where the suggestion was made that we are getting progressively LESS secure. The rationale being that we are heading towards a single point of failure.
40-50 years ago your identity was spread over many totally unconnected paper-based filing systems, and it was discrepancies between these that was likely to trip up would-be fraudsters. Also, if one system was compromised, it wouldn't 'infect' all the others.
"How can we now control the illegal immigration and keep track of the legals if we do not have an ID system. I fully belive that the ID card should also serve as an entitlement card. No card = no NHS. No card no access to public transport, no access to services, no DHSS benefits. Without this we are all at risk from the Talebs - Zalaam711"
Wow, some people really did believe what NewLabour said then. Zalaam, there are a dozen ways of doing what you talk about above without resorting to a totalitarian state. The NIR & ID card system, as was being built, would have been the most intrusive, expensive and dangerous identity system ever built, by anyone, ever.
If you think I'm making this up out of whole cloth, just take a scan at the arguments at - http://www.no2id.net/IDSchemes/whyNot
As for the Talebs; this makes me wonder if you were just trolling as I have no clue how they are involved in any of this. The Home Office and all other relevant bodies admitted years ago that neither this nor any other ID system would have helped in any of the terrorist incidents in Europe over the last 10 years.
What I actually came here to say though, was we now have to be very very vigilant about what the Home Office *actually* decide to do. They have a nasty habit of saying things in scientifically constructed phrases that look like they mean one thing, but actually mean the exact opposite. Yes Minister was not a work of fiction people, there are real Sir Humphreys stalking the corridors.
Nothing short of a full repeal of the ID Cards Act and a solid promise that they will not add fingerprints to passports; at all; not just optionally; not at all.
I would be very pleased to see the-Borders database and ContactPoint go the same way. Hey, if they're really feeling in the mood they could even comply with international rulings on retention of non-criminals' DNA on the NDNAD, by wiping it off, no bleating, no dissembling, no delay.