• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Do you think the Home Office should be carrying out a full race equality impact assessment before these cards are introduced?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Plus the precept increase, at least double, probably treble the rate of inflation.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Are you aware that the money currently committed by the Home Office ' I am not talking about the very wide estimates for what it may eventually cost 'towards this scheme will be enough to pay for 10,000 new police officers? If London got its share of that, that would be more than enough to fully implement the Safer Neighbourhood Teams across London. Do you not think that would actually do far more to reassure Londoners than having to carry identity cards?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

It is not currently proposed to be compulsory to carry identity cards, even when the scheme becomes compulsory. How is that going to help with the situation you describe?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

That leads directly on to the next quote from the 1990 Trust: `The 1990 Trust believes that the introduction of identity cards in Britain will reinforce racial discrimination and particularly Islamophobia.- Do you have no concern about that either?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Thus, you quite categorically disagree with the 1990 Trust, which says, and I quote from the November publication, `ID cards are a misguided response to terrorism, traffickers, crime, or fraud.- You are clearly disagreeing with that.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Do you lack confidence that the Government will get it right?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

That is clear, unequivocal support for the Government's proposed scheme for the introduction of identity cards.

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

If you arrive at Heathrow, and you have a merchant seaman's ticket, you are waived straight through Immigration with no check. That is a greater danger than the ID cards we are talking about.

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

I find it extraordinary, that you will support something which is not going to be introduced until the year 2012, and almost implying that we are going to have to live with the Prime Minister's war on terror at least until then, and then the identity cards will help resolve it. At the moment, a ship can sail into London from any foreign port, and it is not until 12 hours after that they have docked that they actually have to produce a crew list to the local police. Do you not think that a gap like that is a...