Hot on the tails of the news that P&O refused to recognise an ID card as a European travel document comes this investigation from the Manchester Evening News:
THE national identity card scheme was in chaos last night as an M.E.N investigation revealed some of the country’s biggest travel companies are telling customers that they can not be used instead of passports.
Some 1,736 people in Greater Manchester have bought the £30 cards after the Home Office promised they could be used to travel in Europe.
But customer service staff at nine major travel companies – including British Airways, Eurostar and BMI baby – told M.E.N reporters posing as customers that the cards could NOT be used instead of passports.
Eight of the nine companies later issued statements saying staff had given the wrong advice – and that the cards COULD be used after all. But Eurostar remained unsure. A spokesman said: “We are unable to confirm whether the ID cards are valid on Eurostar at this time.”
Eurostar remained unsure. Hmmm…
Still, with all this ID card failure going on, it’s hardly any wonder they’ve voted against them in Liverpool. Even the Labour party…
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The title is misleading – the ID cards (and database) aren’t being trialled, they’re being rolled out in phases. Manchester now, then Liverpool and Bolton, and so on. There’s no intent on the part of the Government to scrap them if they don’t work.
Don’t forget, join NO2ID to support the cross-party single-issue campaign against the Database State!
I think the travel companies are right what are the chances of other EU countries actually knowing what a genuine UK ID card looks like? Wouldn’t fancy risking not being allowed to leave/enter a country due to not having a passport
Don’t you have to sign up to the Schengen agreement to have a national ID card accepted instead of a passport?