David Blunkett, the home secretary, is pressing ahead with his plan to introduce identity cards in Britain and the howls of protest from the civil liberties lobby can already be heard. As we reveal today, Mr Blunkett has abandoned the idea of calling them “entitlement” cards, which was always a sop. They will be identity cards, they will be compulsory and adults will have to pay £39 for the privilege of having one, although they will also double up as passports and driving licences. They will contain “biometric” data, including iris scans, facial characteristics and even fingerprints to prevent cards being stolen and used by other people.

The civil liberties case against ID cards is a feeble one that belongs to a more innocent age. Today’s terrorists are internationally mobile, moving in and out of countries on false passports. Identity theft is one of the growth crimes of the 21st century. Illegal immigration to Britain is out of control and the lack of ID cards here, in contrast with 11 out of the 15 other European Union countries, means that this country is a natural magnet for migrants. Illegal workers using stolen National Insurance numbers may be the mainstay of the black economy but they are often exploited and shift the tax burden onto those working in the legal economy. ID cards would clamp down on the illegals. Fraudulent claims for benefit or other public services, the original motivation for an entitlement card, would become much more difficult. The law-abiding have nothing to fear from ID cards. The criminal, the terrorist or the illegal worker does.

For that reason, it is vital that an ID card scheme works. Mr Blunkett, doubtless for fear of appearing too draconian, wants it to be compulsory for people to have an ID card but not compulsory for them to carry it. Those required to produce it could do so in a few days at a police station, as with driving licences now. That, however, is a fudge too far. Law-abiding folk would carry their ID cards and produce them on demand. An international terrorist or illegal immigrant, however, would be long gone. Let’s have ID cards, but let’s make sure we do it properly.