Christian MP will take ID protest to jail
-27/11/05
UK Member of Parliament Simon Hughe
Christian MP will take ID protest to jail
-27/11/05
UK Member of Parliament Simon Hughes, president of the Liberal Democrat Party and a practicing Christian, has said that if necessary he will go to jail rather than carry the PM Tony Blairís proposed compulsory national identity card.
Mr Hughes, MP for Bermondsey in inner city southeast London, is the first senior politician to publicly contemplate ëmartyrdomí on the issue ñ and to sign up to a civil disobedience campaign which could involve tens of thousands of participants if the government presses ahead with its scheme.
The ID card bill has had its first reading in the House of Commons. It is currently being scrutinised by the second chamber, the House of Lords.
Critics say that it is vastly expensive, will contribute little to national security, and is a disaster from the perspective of civil liberties and human rights.
Some sections of Britainís faith communities are concerned about the possible impact of the introduction of an ID scheme, particularly its relation to ëethnic profilingí ñ which has become a controversial issue in the current debate on effective measures to combat terrorism.
Recently a prominent former head of MI5, Britainís internal security service, questioned the need for ID cards in addition to passports. Stella Rimington said that experts were not pressing for such a scheme and that it would be ìabsolutely uselessî unless the cards were impossible to forge.
For opponents the ID card is seen as a step towards a national database on all citizens which could be exploited by an authoritarian government, and might even be a target for cyber hackers with sinister or criminal intent.
Mr Hughes told the Observer newspaper: ìFor me it is a matter of fundamental principleÖ I was born in this country [and] I do not believe that I should have to identify myself as a matter of course.î
Nearly 12,000 people are already signed up to a ëwe will not carry an ID cardí pledge by online campaign group No2ID. They have donated at least £10 each to a legal defence fund to contest the governmentís right to enforce the scheme under European human rights legislation now enshrined in UK law.
Spokesperson Phil Booth said: ìI have no doubt that Simon Hughesí forthright position will give a new boost to the campaignî against a proposal looking ìincreasingly weak.î
[Also on Ekklesia: Christian MP attacks anti-migrant rhetoric; Christian candidate for mayor launches London manifesto]
Christian MP will take ID protest to jail
-27/11/05
UK Member of Parliament Simon Hughes, president of the Liberal Democrat Party and a practicing Christian, has said that if necessary he will go to jail rather than carry the PM Tony Blair’s proposed compulsory national identity card.
Mr Hughes, MP for Bermondsey in inner city southeast London, is the first senior politician to publicly contemplate ëmartyrdom’ on the issue – and to sign up to a civil disobedience campaign which could involve tens of thousands of participants if the government presses ahead with its scheme.
The ID card bill has had its first reading in the House of Commons. It is currently being scrutinised by the second chamber, the House of Lords.
Critics say that it is vastly expensive, will contribute little to national security, and is a disaster from the perspective of civil liberties and human rights.
Some sections of Britain’s faith communities are concerned about the possible impact of the introduction of an ID scheme, particularly its relation to ëethnic profiling’ – which has become a controversial issue in the current debate on effective measures to combat terrorism.
Recently a prominent former head of MI5, Britain’s internal security service, questioned the need for ID cards in addition to passports. Stella Rimington said that experts were not pressing for such a scheme and that it would be ‘absolutely useless’ unless the cards were impossible to forge.
For opponents the ID card is seen as a step towards a national database on all citizens which could be exploited by an authoritarian government, and might even be a target for cyber hackers with sinister or criminal intent.
Mr Hughes told the Observer newspaper: ‘For me it is a matter of fundamental principleÖ I was born in this country [and] I do not believe that I should have to identify myself as a matter of course.’
Nearly 12,000 people are already signed up to a ëwe will not carry an ID card’ pledge by online campaign group No2ID. They have donated at least £10 each to a legal defence fund to contest the government’s right to enforce the scheme under European human rights legislation now enshrined in UK law.
Spokesperson Phil Booth said: ‘I have no doubt that Simon Hughes’ forthright position will give a new boost to the campaign’ against a proposal looking ‘increasingly weak.’
[Also on Ekklesia: Christian MP attacks anti-migrant rhetoric; Christian candidate for mayor launches London manifesto]