Blair pleads the case for biometric ID cards*

Feb 20 11:25 AM US/Eastern

Prime Minister Tony Blair has written personally to thousands of people
opposed to the introduction of identity cards, but admitted he would
struggle to convince civil liberties groups.

Blair told nearly 28,000 people who signed an on-line petition on his
own website that ID cards would make an "important contribution"
countering fraud, international crime and terrorism as well as tackling
illegal immigration.

The petition -- which calls for Blair to scrap the plan as it would not
prevent terrorism or crime and would be "yet another tax on all
law-abiding citizens" -- is one of the most popular on the Number 10
Downing Street site.

Blair's e-mail to signatories said it would be "foolish" not to take the
opportunity to use biometric data like fingerprints to secure a person's
identity and disputed "exaggerated" claims about the cost of the scheme.

"Terrorists routinely use multiple identities -- up to 50 at a time.
Indeed this is an essential part of the way they operate and is
specifically taught at Al-Qaeda training camps," he wrote.

"One in four criminals also uses a false identity. ID cards which
contain biometric recognition details and which are linked to a National
Identity Register will make this much more difficult."

Blair said identity fraud costs Britain 1.7 billion pounds (2.5 billion
euros, 3.3 billion dollars) each year but ID cards would make forgery
harder, improve identity checking and make personal data checks easier.

"I recognise that these arguments will not convince those who oppose a
National Identity Scheme on civil liberty grounds," he added.

"They will, I hope, be reassured by the strict safeguards now in place
on the data held on the register and the right for each individual to
check it."

The first ID cards are expected to be issued from 2008-09. Having one
will be compulsory but citizens will not be required to carry them at
all times. Such a scheme has not existed in Britain since World War II.

Campaigners such as the NO2ID group argue ID cards will erode civil
liberties and that the scheme is based on untried, over-complicated
technology used by an executive with unchecked powers.

They are also concerned at certain ethnic minority groups being unfairly
targeted and the potential for it to be a "ready-made police-state tool"
for any unscrupulous future government.

The main opposition Conservative Party and smaller Liberal Democrats are
both opposed to the scheme.