Warning on ID card 'big brother'

The Conservatives have warned that local government officials could be used to police the government's identity cards database.

Town hall employees could take on a 'big brother' role, said shadow constitutional affairs secretary Oliver Heald.

The party pointed to the "small print of an obscure government consultation paper" which floated the idea.

Electoral register proposals suggest that the new electoral database will also be connected to the ID card database, and council officials will be required to "investigate" any discrepancies.

Under current plans local residents face fines of up to £2,500 for not registering or keeping their details up to date with the new national ID Card Agency.

"There is growing concern amongst the public about Labour's use of invasive 'big brother' computer databases - without transparency or clear backing from the public – such as for the forthcoming council tax revaluation," said Heald.

"I believe local residents will be alarmed at the further prospect of town hall bureaucrats being told to investigate people's homes for ID Cards, backed up with the threat of thousand pound fines.

"If the government was serious about reducing electoral fraud, identity cards aren't needed.

"The tried and tested system of individual registration, used successfully in Northern Ireland, shows how existing and widely accepted National Insurance numbers can confirm the existence of electors and stamp out postal vote fraud."