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2006–2010 · UK government IT

The UK identity card scheme: from Act of Parliament to shredded register

Last reviewed 5 October 2026

Britain legislated for national ID cards backed by a central biometric register, then abolished the whole scheme within five years.

The plan

The Labour government proposed identity cards linked to a National Identity Register holding biographical and biometric data. Supporters argued it would help against identity fraud, illegal working and terrorism.

The Identity Cards Act received Royal Assent in 2006 after a long fight in Parliament.

The warnings

Academics, most prominently the London School of Economics’ Identity Project in 2005, warned that the scheme was technically high-risk and that its true cost could be far above government estimates. Privacy groups objected to the central register and the range of data it would hold.

Large-scale biometric enrolment, database security and the reliability of matching at national scale were all repeatedly questioned in the computing press.

Abolition

Identity documents were issued to some foreign nationals from late 2008, and cards to volunteers from 2009. After the 2010 general election the coalition government passed the Identity Documents Act 2010, which cancelled the cards and required the register to be destroyed. The register was destroyed in early 2011.

The scheme remains a reference point whenever national digital identity is proposed in the UK.

Sources