Identity Cards Bill

I am loath to rise again but my noble friend Lord Gould said that the world had changed politically, certainly since the 1940s when of course the noble Earl’s father—even though he may have been a serving officer in the Army—had to carry an identity card. The fact is that the world has not just changed politically and socially, but dramatically in terms of technology. We live in a world of information, most of which is good. It has freed up the world and freed up people in a way that has not happened in the past. That information and technology means that, yes, the Government will have information, but large numbers of other organisations will also have all sorts of information about us. Every time you use a bank card in a machine, or every time I use my freedom card on a bus or the Underground—whatever it might be—information is stored and collected somewhere. If I buy a book or a record on Amazon or bid for something on eBay on the Internet, that information is collected. If I want to operate my bank account on the Internet, I have to give my bank large amounts of information, including a password and so on, in order to do so. Why are Members so opposed to the Government having information on them when they are apparently quite happy for all sorts of other organisations to have information about them?