Identity Cards Bill

Echoing the noble Lord, Lord Williams, I recall two well attested cases, first of the Times correspondent in the Boxer Rebellion and, secondly, of a former Lord Bessborough, both of whom read their obituaries in the Times. When they called the Times to verify or to demonstrate that they were not in fact dead, on both occasions the subeditor replied, ““Before you go any further, where are you speaking from?””. Clearly, it was a standard operating process at the Times to respond to questions of that nature in that manner.