uk govt predicts 1⁄3 of people will resist ID checks

from register uk: One in three people will resist identity checks according to Government figures. The just-released statistics predict a widespread revolt over identity cards, but the Home Office has dismissed the figures as irrelevant and out of date...

The figures show that 30 per cent of people were predicted by the Government to refuse to co-operate with ID card checks. The papers, published by the Department for Work and Pensions, show that officials expected that 60 per cent of people would carry an ID card even if it became compulsory to own but not carry one...

They also calculated, though, that 30 per cent of people would refuse to carry or show their card or to submit to a finger or eye scan to confirm their identity...

Plans for ID cards have faced widespread opposition, and Government plans to use a completely new, dedicated computer database as the basis for them have been scrapped. Several existing Government databases will now be used.

The Government has also dropped plans to have an iris scan form part of every ID card. In a Strategic Action Plan published in December, iris scanning was listed as only an option and not a requirement.

A recent survey conducted on behalf of the Daily Telegraph found that hundreds of thousands of UK citizens would refuse to sign up to a national identity register in the first place, even if it resulted in fines.