A sign of things to come?

I've written before about my concerns with regard to ID cards. Well look at this article and ask yourself how far we should trust our authorities with such a tool of control. "'It is shocking that we could not have a peaceful protest in a peaceful country but this is what these ministers want.'"
Here's a response from some No2ID campaigners
"Home Secretary Charles Clarke has been quoted as saying that civil liberties should not stand in the way of his plans. At the same time six civil liberties campaigners were arrested en route to a demonstration outside a meeting of EU ministers in Newcastle which he was addressing.
The NO2ID Six were stopped on their way to the summit where they intended to parade a 12 feet by 12 feet ID card while wearing orange boiler suits with barcodes stamped on their foreheads. After stopping them on suspicion of conspiring to cause a breach of the peace, the police charged them with conspiracy to cause criminal damage. At four o'clock the next morning they were bailed on condition that they do not go near the area of the summit until 3PM on Sunday.
Clearly the police are attempting to stifle peaceful protest that might be embarrassing for the government in front of fellow European ministers. This was a similar tactic to that used the Metropolitan Police to hide human rights protesters from the sight of the Chinese President when he visited London a few years ago.
The introduction of ID cards and a National Identity Register would make it even easier for the authorities to stifle legitimate political action. For instance, people might not be so eager to march against unpopular wars in future if they knew that their ID cards and/or biometrics could easily be checked by police if they attend demonstrations and that an entry would automatically be recorded in the National Identity Register audit trail. A government database of protesters would make it very easy to harass citizens who try to exercise their right to freedom of speech.
Benjamin Franklin said that those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. To give up our civil liberties for the illusion of security would be very foolish indeed."

BBC NEWS | England | Tyne | Six campaigners held at EU summit: