ID documents bill likely to become law by July

ID documents bill timetable agreed

MPs have agreed a timetable for detailed discussion of the identity documents bill and it is likely to become law by the end of July.

The identity documents bill aims to scrap the ID cards scheme which was implemented by the last government.

A detailed timetable for line-by-line discussion was adopted by the Commons committee charged with considering the legislation.

MPs heard the case against ID cards and a national identity register put forcibly by civil liberties groups.

And Manchester Airports Group, which helped provide free national ID cards to airside workers, called for access to passport data instead.

Without this, it argued, airport operators may be forced to create cumbersome ID card schemes of their own.

Customer services director Mike Fazackerley explained that a previous scheme, which required employees of airside businesses to obtain security-cleared cards every five years and every time they switched jobs, hampered staff and employers.

However, he warned that operators were "not getting positive indications" and that use of a passport database would be possible.