ID card abolition should apply to all

The coalition government's plan to scrap ID cards is welcome but details are hazy on how it affects non-EU 'foreign' nationals
Jacqui Smith holds a sample British identity card
The coalition government's plan to abolish ID cards has been welcomed but a lack of policy detail leaves unanswered questions. Photograph: Linda Nylind Linda Nylind/Guardian

In many countries across Europe it is quite a common occurrence. Ethnic minorities, indeed, anyone suspected of being "an outsider" or "seeming weird" are stopped in the middle of the road by the police and asked for their identity cards. If they cannot produce one, they're in trouble. If they're an immigrant, so much the worse.

Britain, much to the disdain of civil rights activists, entered this very realm in late 2008, when it began to roll out compulsory identity cards for "foreign" students. Note: foreign here does not mean anyone from outside the UK, but anyone from outside the European Union. Soon afterwards, "foreign" citizens who were married to British subjects (and yes, that would include civil partners), were forced to get these biometric ID cards. And beginning last year, ID cards were also issued, forcefully and without forewarning, to a section of non-EU citizens who came to work in this country.

Unlike national identity cards, which were entirely voluntary, the system was compulsory for immigrants from the very beginning. This ID card contained sensitive personal information, including biometric data, the purpose of visit to the UK, the length of stay, and for an already persecuted asylum seeker, the nature of his or her detention. And, contrary to what the tabloids and the Tories have told you in the past, the cost of this scheme was never borne by the British taxpayer, but by visa applicants, who had to pay exorbitant fees to cover the cost of the biometric identity cards.

Visas were often delayed by months, which resulted in many students missing weeks of university education. No matter what their purpose, how much they contribute to the UK, and how long they stay, immigrants were still, according to the previous government, third-class citizens, potential illegals or worse, suspected terrorists.

Yesterday, the new coalition government announced, through the Queen's speech, its intention to scrap ID cards. Welcome news, indeed, and a credit to the Liberal Democrats who opposed this scheme in its entirety from the start. For immigrants, however, uncertainty still looms large. For, as far as I can see, the government has promised to scrap the national identity register, and the ID card systems established in London and Manchester.

Whether ID cards already in place for foreign nationals will remain, or whether foreign nationals entering Britain in the future will continue to need ID cards, remains entirely uncertain. This is because, by default, we assume that when the parties speak of ID cards, they speak of "national" ID cards as they pertain to UK citizens. And, indeed, they largely have, since half the documents, including the Tory manifesto, speak of abolishing the "national ID cards", without specifying how their policies would affect foreign nationals.

So, when I called the Home Office this morning, hoping to gain some clarification, the only vague answer I received from a spokeswoman was that the government would announce its long-term strategy soon, and that it was still working out the finer details of its proposal. Oh, really? Perhaps I had asked too complicated a question. Let me put it again in the simplest terms.

Dear prime minister, does your government intend to abolish the identity cards for everyone, or do you intend to retain them for foreign nationals? If the latter, why so, and aren't you being a hypocrite?