Britain’s multi-billion pound scheme to bring in national identity cards will be scrapped within 100 days, the government announced on Thursday.
The National Identity Register, a database which holds biometric information about the cardholders, will also be destroyed, in the first piece of legislation to be brought to Parliament by the new coalition government. The move spells the end of the scheme, estimated to be set to cost almost £5 billion over the next decade, which was brought in by the Labour administration. It had argued the cards were vital in the fight against crime and terrorism. “The wasteful, bureaucratic and intrusive ID card scheme represents everything that has been wrong with government in recent years,” said deputy prime minister Nick Clegg. “By taking swift action to scrap it, we are making it clear that this government won’t sacrifice people’s liberty.” The £30 cards, which contained personal details, fingerprints and a facial image, were part of what was seen as one of the world’s most ambitious biometric projects.
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‘Indian-origin tycoon in race for peerage’
AGE CORRESPONDENT
LONDON
Indian-origin millionaire Dolar Popat, who has been a member of the Conservative Party for over 30 years, is to be nominated for a peerage by British PM David Cameron, according to a report.
Fifty-six-year-old Mr Popat first came to London from Uganda in 1971 to study but stayed after his family was expelled from there. Mr Popat is the chief executive of TLC Group, a holding company which has four subsidiaries companies. Two companies specialise in care homes with nursing for people with high dependency nee-ds and the other two specialise in the hospitality industry. He has built a fortune worth an estimated £42 million, the report said. The Ugandan-born father of three sons has given the Conservative Party more than £2,00,000 in donations over six years. Mr Popat will be given a seat in the House of Lords as a new list of peers for the House of Lords will be unveiled, the Daily Mail reported.
“He has helped bankroll the work of Tory frontbenchers who are now ministers, including international development secretary Andrew Mitchell, Cabinet minister Baroness Warsi and many others,” the Mail said.