Commons vote reveals Tory split

Tory divisions were laid bare today after it emerged dozens of senior Conservatives had failed to back Opposition Leader Michael Howard on ID cards.

The Identity Card Bill cleared its first Commons vote by 385 to 93, a majority of 292.

Both the Tories and Labour suffered backbench rebellions with 17 Labour MPs and nine Tories, including former frontbenchers Damian Green and David Curry, defying the whip.

The depth of unease across party ranks was made clear as more than 170 MPs abstained. The Labour rebels included former ministers Clare Short, Kate Hoey and Glenda Jackson, and long-standing critics Jeremy Corbyn, Alice Mahon and Bob Marshall-Andrews.

The Tory rebellion appeared to stretch to the senior ranks of the shadow cabinet, with at least six members failing to appear on the frontbench.

They included John Redwood, Tim Yeo, Nicholas Soames and David Cameron. Their absence may have been for another reason, but the lack of frontbench support is a blow to Mr Howard.

Other senior Tories absent included David Willetts, George Osborne, Alan Duncan, and Gerald Howarth.

Liberal Democrat spokesman Mark Oaten said the " completely flawed" idea would turn the UK "from a nanny state to a Big Brother state".

But new Home Secretary Charles Clarke accused opponentsof being "Luddites". He said: "There is a Luddite tendency which says we should have no technology for any development as there have been mistakes in the past. It is not one I support in any way.

"There is an entirely false claim that ID cards will erode our civil liberties, will re-visit 1984, will usher in the Big Brother society or establish some kind of totalitarian police state."