New Law Clears Way for National ID Cards
Lawmakers approved a measure requiring Britons applying for passports to get an identity card or be entered into a computer database, paving the way for the country’s first national ID since World War II.
Prime Minister Tony Blair said the cards would be key to fighting terrorism, crime and illegal immigration.
Under the measure, anyone applying for a passport before January 2010 can opt out of having an ID card, but will be put on a national database.
To introduce compulsory ID cards in or after 2010, the government would need to pass a separate bill.
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