The latest backlash against the scheme has come from students and airport workers, the two groups included in the initial rollout plans. From 2009 the cards will be compulsory for aviation workers. The following year they will be introduced on a voluntary basis to young people aged 16 to 25.

Guinea pigs
Last week the British Air Transport Association (BATA) kicked-off a new flurry of protests when it voiced concern for its staff. Roger Wiltshire, secretary general of BATA, says he is unconvinced by the benefits of the scheme and fears there could be implications for aviation workers who are forced to become “guinea pigs” for the trial.

He told PrintWeek: “We see no security benefits from the proposals and have written to the government to demand a rethink. Airlines are already required to perform a five-year check on new staff. We are not convinced ID cards will streamline the process.

“Our staff will be first to be on this database and we question why? The government could just have easily included its own staff in the rollout. This is a political decision that I can’t begin to see the value in.”

Young people have also reacted against the proposals, despite reassurances from Labour that the scheme will make it easier for them to access services they have the right to use, such as banks and nightclubs.

A discussion forum set up for young people to discuss the £4.4bn scheme has acted as a hub for criticism of the project. The comments on mylifemyid.org’s forums are predominantly negative.

One student, who was stopped and searched, wrote: “I believe that going about my business, I shouldn’t need to prove myself. It concerns me that these officials make assumptions, lie and demand more information than is necessary.

“An ID card would make this kind of thing more common place. We shouldn’t have to pay for the privilege through taxes and an increasingly costly passport.”

Meanwhile, the Tories have branded the initial rollout as a ploy to introduce the scheme by stealth. The political party, widely tipped to win the next general election, has said it would scrap the scheme entirely.

Damian Green, shadow home office minister, says: “ID cards would do nothing to improve our security and may well make it worse. The government should abandon this costly scheme, which the LSE estimate will cost £19bn, and invest the savings in measures that will genuinely improve our security.

“The fact the timetable has slipped and they are now trying to pick individual groups off bit by bit shows that this scheme is unravelling fast.”

Security benefits
Other opposition parties, including the Liberal Democrats and Green Party, are also against the scheme. However, the government remains insistent that ID cards will provide real security benefits to the UK.

A Labour party spokeswoman says the cards offer value for money and will provide a simpler and more secure way to process data. She adds: “Our polls have found that levels of support for the national ID scheme have remained consistently high at around 60%.

“ID cards will make it much harder to use false or multiple identities by securely linking a person’s unique identity to the national identity register using biometrics such as fingerprints.”

Worth millions
3M Security Printing and Systems, which was formed through 3M’s acquisition of Manchester-based Security Printing and Systems (SPSL) two years ago, won the contract to produce the initial run of ID cards, said to be worth “a few million pounds”. SPSL had previously won the contract to produce biometric passports.

3M declined to comment on the debate, but assured the public that security measures would be in place for data protection.

Bill Crothers, executive director at Identity and Passport Service, who chose the security printer, says: “I am confident our chosen supplier has the capability to help deliver a solution that will create a universal and simple proof of identity which brings real benefits. This contract is both innovative and protective of the public purse.”

As in politics, a week is a long time in printing and battle lines have been drawn on the ID card project. Labour’s by-election defeat to The Scottish National Party last week prompted David Cameron to demand a general election. It is a demand Gordon Brown is unlikely to submit to. However, the fate of
the controversial project could yet be decided sooner than expected.