Alex Foster

ID cards trial failure

By | Wed 23rd December 2009 - 7:56 pm

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…

Read more by or more about , , , , , , or .
This entry was posted in News.
Advert

3 Comments

  • Dave Page 24th Dec '09 - 12:13am

    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!

  • Peter1919 24th Dec '09 - 1:02am

    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

  • NoOffenceAlan 24th Dec '09 - 1:40pm

    Don’t you have to sign up to the Schengen agreement to have a national ID card accepted instead of a passport?

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Paul Holmes
    When I was an MP I remember being shown a block of Council flats in London. We stood on a first floor walkway and my guide pointed to one door that after RtBuy ...
  • Paul Holmes
    AlexB - Housing Associations already have the power to borrow money against their assets, which are of course not subject to the wholesale Right to Buy (at huge...
  • David McHardy
    There is no way out of the housing crisis without mass private building. Private building has stalled because it is unprofitable, as this article explains. This...
  • George Thomas
    "Of course, devolution cannot simply mean moving responsibilities without resources. Local leaders need meaningful fiscal powers, long-term funding settlements ...
  • George Thomas
    Greater devolution without greater funding is a poisoned chalice and that is what's being offered in Wales. That and sly digs at the Senedd. Then it leads t...