Anthem for Doomed I.D. Cards

For years, British P.M. Tony Blair has hyped National I.D. cards as the solution to terrorism, illegal immigration, crime, bad weather, Marmite, the hoodie epidemic, etc. In public, Blair's officials are all on board. But leaked e-mails, written by Whitehall officials and printed in The Sunday Times, reveal that the entire project is massively screwed. The I.D. card project director doubts that the plan "is even remotely feasible." Of a face-saving plan for scaled-down cards, the acting director at the Identity and Passport Service says, "It was a Mr Blair apparently who wanted the 'early variant' card. Not my idea." And an unnamed official involved with the project tells the Times, "No one expects this program to work."

Via Samizdata.