Blunkett unveils 10-year ID card plan

Eight out of 10 adults will be carrying new ID cards by 2013 under a timetable unveiled by David Blunkett today.

New cards carrying unique fingerprint or iris recognition chips will begin replacing passports and driving licences within two years.

They will cost holders around £3.50 a year extra to fund the new technology but will not be compulsory.

The Home Secretary spelled out his determination to bring in the shake-up to MPs in a Commons statement this afternoon.

He said: "An ID card scheme will help tackle the crime and serious issues facing the UK, particularly illegal working, immigration abuse, ID fraud, terrorism and organised crime.

"The implementation of this scheme will begin as soon as the legislative framework and technology have been put in place to issue the card for the renewal of first passports and then driving licences." Mr Blunkett's uncompromising stance comes despite a Cabinet rebellion last week where ministers led by Gordon Brown and Jack Straw warned it could become a financial or political catastrophe.

Mr Blunkett expects work on developing the scheme to go ahead with a six-month trial by the UK Passport Service of fingerprint recognition. The immediate results would be used to replace existing passports with new cards equipped with computer chips containing unique biometric data for identification purposes.

That will be followed by new driving licences using the same technology, creating a national database around which a future ID card scheme would be based. Low-income groups and pensioners will get free cards or substantial concessions, others will be allowed to pay in instalments.

Mr Blunkett added: "I should emphasise it will not be compulsory for anyone to carry the card with them, any more than it is for the driving licence today." He dismissed concerns about civil liberties, saying: "No one has anything to fear from being correctly identified - but everything to fear from having their identity stolen or misused."

Tory spokesman David Davis, making his debut appearance as shadow home secretary, poured scorn on the scheme. He demanded to know what would happen if the police asked a suspected illegal immigrant to produce their card within five days. "The honest citizen will do just that - but the illegal immigrant will simply disappear," he said.

Mr Davis said terrorists could easily avoid having to produce a card because foreign nationals would be allowed to stay for three months before being given one. "Does he really think this will stop free movement of terrorists?" he asked.