Lib Dem shadow home secretary Nick Clegg has hit out at Labour’s third passport price rise hike in under two years.

From October, a passport will cost £72, up from £66 now, and £42 in December 2005. In 1995, the cost of renewing a passport was just £18.

The reason for this rocketing stealth tax? ID cards, and Labour’s desperation to conceal from the public the full £20 billion costs of introducing their new compulsory surveillance system. As Nick explains:

“Last time I asked, the Government refused to justify its implausible claim that 70 per cent of the cost of ID cards would be absorbed by new passport costs. This latest price hike suggests the Government is going full steam ahead with its cynical plan to bury ID card costs inside each and every passport.”

There’s more on the Lib Dem campaign to stop ID cards here.