I might sue over scrapped ID card, says Blunkett

Former home secretary David Blunkett said today he was considering suing the Government for the £30 cost of his ID card, after it was announced that holders of the documents will not be compensated when they are abolished.

Home Secretary Theresa May announced yesterday that the national identity register will be scrapped within 100 days, and existing cards will become invalid.

Thousands of people are believed to have been issued with ID cards, which could be used to prove their identity or travel within Europe.

Mr Blunkett, who first announced plans for ID cards in 2003, dismissed suggestions that they formed part of a "surveillance state".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I have got a card and it's very useful and I don't believe anyone has surveilled anything about me.

"Unfortunately, nobody is getting their money back. I'm thinking of suing them, but it might cost me more than £30."

Mr Blunkett accused Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg of "exaggeration and hyperbole and self-deception" over the supposed intrusiveness of the national identity register and the savings available from abolishing it.

He said that scrapping the cards "won't change anything for anyone out there" but will make it harder for security services to fight terrorism and for the Government to clamp down on fraud and misuse of the NHS.