Lib Dem Group welcomes stories that ID Cards are set to be delayed

9.00.00am GMT Wed 23rd Jan 2008

Cllr Richard Brett (Burmantofts and Richmond Hill), Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Leeds City Council, has welcomed news that ID Cards look set to be delayed until at least 2012 for the vast majority of British Citizens.

Cllr Brett said "with all the chaos surrounding Whitehall's inability to keep our personal data safe, from Child Benefit records to Ministry of Defence information on recruits, the national ID card scheme has the potential not only to be one of the costliest mistakes ever promoted by Whitehall but a threat to all individuals and a boon to identity fraudsters.

"In December Leeds City Council voted for a motion I proposed calling for the withdrawal of the ID Cards scheme, and for the money saved to be used to combat crime directly. I remain strongly of the view that the money being wasted on the ID Card scheme would be much better spent on more Police Officers, Police Community Support Officers and other front line resources to combat crime."