Identity Cards Bill

I am most grateful to the Minister. I give her warning that my supplementary amendment at the very end of the Bill will be full and meaningful. Some 80 per cent of people over the age of 16 have passports, and most of those who do not—more than half of pensioners do not—probably have no intention of travelling. We have moved to a society in which the passport is particularly important. On the question of identity relating to passports, there are several sorts of identity card but almost all the EEA countries now issue an identity card on which you can travel. To make sure, in my research, that this was viable, I tested this at Heathrow, Luton and Gatwick. The immigration officers found it acceptable and, surprisingly enough, thought that my identity card, which I had copied from my passport, would be perfectly acceptable for travel around those countries. The final point lies not in the Government’s need to collect information for themselves but in making it easy for the citizen to prove his identity. Those whom the noble Lord, Lord Gould, referred to as being so enthusiastic about the idea of having a passport have not fully appreciated the amount of information to be contained on the register. Members of the Committee will appreciate that in 2003, 8,000 fraudulent travel documents were seized upon entry into the United Kingdom, which must be only a small percentage of those held by all who are here illegally. In the note I gave the noble Baroness, I used some of the Home Office figures to show the estimates of how many illegal or semi-legal people there were in the United Kingdom. I give her a gentle warning: perhaps as the Bill progresses, and on Wednesday, she might be able to produce some estimates that are more reliable than those made to date of numbers of people who are illegally in the United Kingdom and who do not have a passport or any acceptable proof of identity. Finally, I refer back to Gaius Julius Caesar, who had two other names: Octavius, which meant he was the eighth in line—I am only the third or the fourth, I cannot remember which—and Augustus, which meant ““holy”” or ““chosen””. Since this is such an august moment, the Minister will appreciate that it would be helpful if there were some definition of what each name should be called, whether or not it is on the identity card. I still prefer the concept of Christian name, middle name and surname. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. [Amendment No. 81 had been withdrawn from the Marshalled List.] [Amendments Nos. 82 to 84 not moved.] [Amendments Nos. 84A to 85 had been withdrawn from the Marshalled List.]