'ID cards won't make us safer'

This adds nothing new but the dismissal of the value of the cards in security work form a former head of a security service must be a bit of a blow

Identity cards would not make Britain a safer place and nobody in the secret intelligence services supports their introduction, according to the former head of MI5.

See also the Conservatives' reaction. There's also some stuff here of the governments reaction. Apparently the best argument is that ID cards helped Spain's security services/police to catch up with the Madrid bombers. Let's just think about that for a moment: first there was no help from ID cards stopping it happening. Second, in a country where ID cards are routine, it would be surprising if ID cards played no role in detection; what we aren't able to judge is whether it was routine or significant and how it could have panned out without them. Thirdly, as I reported yesterday the issue is less cards themselves than cards linked to a single government database and that is not, as I understand it Spain's system since the UK would be the first to do this. So the vital argument is skirted in this example. So Spain is probably irrelevant to what is being proposed in Britain.
Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | 'ID cards won't make us safer':On Del.icio.us: ID_cards, facts, UK, problems, MI5