British nationals will not be forced to carry identity cards after Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, scrapped plans to make the controversial £4.9 billion scheme compulsory. By Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Editor Alan Johnson said ID cards should not have been portrayed as 'a panacea for terrorism". Photo: PA British nationals will not be forced to carry identity cards after Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, scrapped plans to make the controversial £4.9 billion scheme compulsory. In a significant climb down, Mr Johnson yesterday announced that the cards would only be issued to Britons on a voluntary basis. The move raises the prospect of the scheme being abandoned altogether if no one takes them up. The first attempt to impose compulsory ID cards on Britons - a pilot scheme involving airside workers - has now been scrapped. It... [read full story]
