MPs face new Lords clash on ID cards

Brendan Carlin / London Telegraph | March 17 2006

The Government was heading for a fresh battle with the House of Lords yesterday over plans to force anyone applying for a passport to have an identity card too.

MPs overturned a Lords move to make the controversial new cards voluntary. The Commons vote, by 292 to 241, sets up the prospect of a fresh round of parliamentary "ping-pong".

However, Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, stopped short of threatening to use the Parliament Act, which allows the Commons to impose its will on the Lords.

The Government maintains that requiring people to obtain ID cards when they apply for - or renew - a passport from 2008 does not make the system compulsory.

Andy Burnham, a Home Office minister, reaffirmed the Government's belief yesterday that the system was voluntary. But David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said that travelling overseas was not a matter of choice for diplomats, soldiers and anyone on business abroad or visiting relatives. "The idea is clearly ridiculous. Under this Bill, ID cards are clearly not voluntary - they are clearly compulsory," he said.

Peers were right to amend the proposals and within their constitutional rights to do so, added the Tory spokesman.

"This will completely invert the relationship between the citizen and the state. Our right to our liberty and privacy isn't one that should be carelessly thrown away," he said.

Nick Clegg, for the Liberal Democrats, said the Government's plan amounted to "stealth compulsion".

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