07/03/05

Hundreds of thousands of people are set to defy the government by refusing to carry ID cards, despite the risk of imprisonment. Campaigners say that a network of anti-ID card groups, ranging from hackers to anarchists, plans a series of assaults in the coming months to try to block the scheme. A £1 million fund is being raised to help pay legal fees if, as expected, prosecutions are brought once the cards become compulsory, probably in 2010. 'We have to show these [people] that we did not vote for them and that we will bring them down. This is the poll tax all over again. I am prepared to do time for this,' runs one entry on the No2ID campaign website. Another says: 'I'm not an anarchist, but we're getting to the stage now where I think peaceful protest isn't going to work.' The Home Office estimates that around 17 per cent of adults -- up to four million people -- oppose the cards. A recent ICM poll, commissioned by No2ID, found that 43 per cent believe they are a 'bad' or 'very bad' idea...

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,6903,1520163,00.html

from Guardian [UK]


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp