Identity Cards Bill

I would like to make some progress. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham) said, it will be necessary to move towards compulsion in the broader interests of national and personal security. ID cards will be a vital tool in fighting organised crime. At the moment, the Home Office identity fraud steering committee says that the cost to the UK economy of identity fraud is £1.7 billion. Given the greater ease of foreign travel—in which Members on both sides of the House are interested—identity fraud is not only becoming more prevalent; it is allowing fraud crimes of increased enormity to take place.