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SHEPWAY ANTI-ID CARD CAMPAIGNERS WELCOME LABOUR SUPPORT

Shepway anti-ID Card campaigners have welcomed the support of Labour rebels as the Government majority for ID cards fell to a new low in yesterdays vote in Parliament.

The latest vote o­n the ID Cards Bill saw the Government majority cut from 67 to 31.

The Liberal Democrats are urging people locally to sign up to oppose ID Cards and the underlying ID database.

Twenty Labour rebels lined up with Tory and Liberal Democrat MPs to vote against the bill's second reading. Shepway anti-ID card campaigner Darren Briddock said: "It's clear that resistance to ID cards is increasing - inside and outside Parliament. As people look into the proposals further, the less they like what they see.

"The ID card won't simply be a photo ID card - it is planned by the Government to contain up to 49 bits of information about you. Government agencies will be able to check the database, and companies pay to check your identity.

"Working in the computer industry, I foresee that ID cards are a potential disaster. They impinge our individual liberties. They will not stop fraud or fight terrorism. They will introduce whole new types of fraud. They will cost a fortune to implement and maintain - much more than currently admitted by the Government."

The campaign against ID cards can be joined o­n-line at www.no2id.net