Identity Cards Bill

My Lords, I do not say that it is unique; others say that it is. As regards the point made by my noble friend Lady Kennedy of The Shaws, Cyprus, which is a common law country, has an identity card scheme. There are approximately 40 projects in 31 countries involving identity storage, the majority incorporating biometric details. Noble Lords will know that the reason we have identified the 13 biometric identifiers is so that we can maximise the opportunity for correctly identifying individuals in a way that will be meaningful and sound. As was alluded to by the noble Baroness, Lady Seccombe, among others, the reality is that the biometric passports will come in in 2006. As was said by my noble friends Lord Bhattacharyya and Lord Harris, that is simply inescapable. We have discussed before why that is so. I refer to the United States making the measure compulsory for those who wish to take advantage of the visa waiver scheme—biometric data in passports will have to be provided. With the EU moving to use biometric passports—