The home secretary has defended the government's case for introducing ID cards.
Appearing alongside new immigration minister Des Browne, David Blunkett told the home affairs select committee that the aim of the cards was as much to clarify entitlements as it was to tackle the black economy and combat terrorism.
It was the media that had put the emphasis on the counter-terrorist aspects of the ID card roll-out, he said, and ministers had been careful to be "circumspect".
However, despite Blunkett's attempts to steer the session onto entitlements, the committee was keen to hear about the impact on terrorism.
The home secretary argued that the intelligence agencies had been amongst the loudest proponents of the scheme, and they had told him that one third of those involved in terrorism had multiple identities that ID cards would help to tackle.
Labour MP David Winnick put it to the home secretary that knowing the identities of the 9/11 hijackers hadn't prevented the Twin Towers tragedy.
"I'm not disputing that the US may know who's in the country and where they are, but it's never been applied to fighting organised crime and terrorism in the way it has been since the attack on New York", said Blunkett.
"The cards will not resolve the terrorist threat, but it will make a contribution," he added.
He warned that terrorists go for the weaker targets, and "the further we are behind up-to-date technology, the weaker we become".
The home secretary also raised the possibility that short term residents in the UK could have cards with printed expiry dates.
