I have now had quite a long and reasoned reply from my MP - Neil Gerrard (Lab, Walthamstow) - to recent civil liberties concerns that I wrote to him about.
Dear Grouchy,
Thank you for your emails and apologies for my delay in replying.
Firstly on the ID Cards Bill there have been some changes as a result of the Lords proposing various amendments. I was involved in a couple of meetings with Charles Clarke when these amendments were due for debate. He accepted a Lords Amendment which will mean that it will not be possible to bring in compulsion to have an ID card, or register, without new legislation, as opposed to being able to bring in a regulation under the Bill as it stood. I do believe this is a step forward, and it was for this reason that I was prepared to abstain on a further Lords Amendment.
I also asked, and have on record in the Commons, that it is possible for anyone to renew their passport at any time, without waiting for it to expire. This does mean that if there is a regulation in two or three years to say that anyone applying for a passport must put their details on the national ID register, it will be possible to get a new passport before that which will be valid for 10 years. I am convinced that the Home Office will be incapable of setting in place the technology to run an ID cards system as proposed, something which no other country in the world has done or is attempting, and that it will collapse as a costly folly.
If there is a future attempt to bring in compulsion I believe the objections will be huge. Many of the people who currently say they support ID cards do so in the mistaken belief that it will not affect them. There is an attitude of "I've done nothing wrong so I have nothing to worry about" which I think would quickly evaporate once people realised that they were going to have to have a card and produce it for all sorts of normal transactions and to obtain public services.
The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill is being justified on the grounds of removing unnecessary burdens from business. I have no problem with removing outdated and unnecessary regulation. However I have a major problem if at the same time powers are taken away from parliament in respect of other legislation. This Bill has so far had very little attention, but I believe that will change when it comes to the Commons again, as I know a considerable number of other MPs who like me are concerned about this Bill and will be seeking amendments to make sure it does no more than it should and relates to a narrow field only.
As far as the activities of the Special Branch are concerned and interviewing actors and people like Morrissey, it suggests a complete lack of common sense. I don't see it as a public warning not to criticise; if so it will have exactly the opposite effect.
Yours sincerely
Neil Gerrard
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