UK Borders Bill

I am grateful for those observations and for the opportunity to clarify one or two points. The relationship with ID cards is fairly simple to spell out. The technical infrastructure on which the cards will be issued is the same infrastructure as will underpin biometric visas, biometric immigration documents and, in turn, ID cards for British citizens, which is why it is difficult to propose shutting down bits of the system without affecting the integrity of some pretty important border controls, including biometric visas, with which Opposition parties profess to agree. Biometric immigration documents can be designated under the terms of the Identity Cards Act. Obviously, in their original issue they will not be so designated, but that will be possible in future, and cardholders will come under the protections that become available to people under that Act. The cards themselves will be the same technical design as we propose for ID cards for British citizens, which is two fingerprints and a facial image on a chip on the card, and 10 fingerprints and a facial image on the national identity register. The hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green) makes a good point about the appeal mechanisms that are required if somebody's card is cancelled. In effect, when a person's leave to remain is cancelled at the same time as a biometric immigration document, or if the application for leave is refused, the person will be able to appeal through the existing system before the asylum and immigration tribunal, and where there is no right of appeal the individual can bring a judicial review under the usual principles. With regard to the belt-and-braces approach to the drafting of the legislation, I have said on the record that the way in which our systems for counting people in and out of the country were phased out was a mistake, and all of us bear some culpability for that decision, but we need to reintroduce such systems, which will give us a degree of control that we do not have today. That will mean, I hope, that these provisions become obsolete, but at the moment I hope that I will be forgiven for saying that a belt-and-braces approach is quite valuable.