Epping Forest Liberal Democrats call for end to ID cards

9.40.19am GMT Mon 14th Jan 2008

On the week that an investigation was launched into how medical records from Whipps Cross Hospital ended littering a country lane in Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats in Epping Forest have backed calls to the government to abandon plans to make people carry identity cards.

Leading the call locally is Councillor Ann Haigh, prospective parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Democrats. She decided to voice her concerns after Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg MP published figures showing that 37 million pieces of personal information on UK citizens were lost in 2007, mostly by the Government.

The law bringing in ID cards has already been passed by Labour and soon most citizens will have to pay for an identity card.

"The expensive identity cards scheme is based on the government storing large amounts of information about each one of us on a central database," said Ann.

"But in 2007 the Government stumbled from one data loss crisis to another. The worst example came in November when the Government lost the personal details of all 25 million families with children. That has put the privacy of every family in Epping Forest at risk.

"The dangers of putting so much information about every citizen in the UK into one central database are clear to everyone except, it seems, the Government. Ministers are in denial when they argue that the information will be safe and people's privacy will not be undermined.

"I am very pleased that new Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg is leading the battle to end the ID cards scheme. Liberal Democrats in Epping Forest are right behind him. The plan to make everyone carry a piece of plastic should be buried before it ends up as another expensive government fiasco.

"The scheme will be a bureaucratic nightmare. It won't prevent illegal working. It won't help stop crime or terrorism. If the government really wants to make an impact on crime, terrorism and illegal immigration, the money it has earmarked for this scheme would be far better spent on more police and intelligence officers. That is what the Liberal Democrats would do."