COMPULSORY IDENTITY CARDS

That this House notes that the Home Office consultation on entitlement cards and identity fraud is about to come to an end; further notes that honourable Members who have been actively consulting their constituents on this issue are reporting growing public support for compulsory ID cards, principally as a tool to help tackle anti-social behaviour, fraud, illegal immigration, crime, terrorism and the smuggling of drugs and people; believes that the vast majority of UK citizens already carry a form of identification every day and would have no qualms about a legal requirement to do so in return for greater public safety; and calls on the Government to give full consideration to the case for a simple system of compulsory identification, common in other European countries, before finalising its plans.