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…

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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?

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