This will just increase purse snatching and car break ins by criminals who want a mobile. The actual owner is on the hook to explain how they didn't commit the crime. The true purpose is everyone is now under government surveillance by their own mobiles. Surveillance is a subtle mind control.

Garrick, Corvallis, USA

Smart move. This will catch everyone *except* criminals and terrorists.

Those will simply pay the nearest job a fiver and a bottle of booze to buy and register a telephone in their own name, and then hand it over to them.

Golodh, London, UK

Yet more databases. When will it stop? It won't. Because this government has been in power too long and sees the world in a very narrow way and most importantly, does exactly what it wants. Which is not. of course, anything like what the people want.

r woodhouse, Brighton, UK

They'll get confusedby our family and friends. When someone buys a new phone the old one gets given away including pay-as-you-go sim! We also give top ups as presents. The terrorists will just find ways around it. So yet more hassle and waste from the National Socialist Labour party.

Rick, Surrey, UK

And presumably if you don't have a passport - and some of us don't - we will be denied the basic human right to own a mobile phone! Oh silly me we'll be able to show our compulsory ID cards instead. Instead of writing to the papers we should all write to our MPs and let them know what we think.

Angela Barratt, London, UK

Why do the security services not get off their backsides and do the job that we are paying them to do via our taxes. Then there would be no need for all these Orwellian initiatives.

Anne, Liverpool,

40m pre-paid phones and mere "thousands" of them are used by law-abiding citizens? There must be a lot of criminals and terrorists in the UK.

Dick, Scarborough, UK

If a terrorist wants a mobile phone all they have to do is steal someone else's phone, and if they don't want the person to tell anyone that their mobile phone has been stolen then they have to make sure they kill the person. If I have thought of that so has the terrorist. Simple solution for them !

Mary, Shrewsbury, Shropshire

until now i had accepted the hype used to enforce the National ID card that they introducing to the uk. reading the article, it is all starting to go too far. i can forsee "permission slips" needed to walk the street after dark and to get the tube..

Mathew, London, England

The stores shud have a link to all network providers to send registration details when they sell a mobile phone just like they do with contracts. The government should only get access when they need it as they do now which means having to have the police call for the info and go through sec' 1st.

Ian, Middlesbrough, UK

The database is more worrying - a government that controls all b/c of the effects of spineless immigration laws. I've been an immigrant for 27 years and suggest that everyone should like or leave UK.
UK - stop kissing up to people who are out to destroy everything that makes you a great place.

Tam, London,

OK, I can't drive & can't travel but now I have to spend £100 on a passport I only need in order to prove my identity to buy a £20 phone. The sooner we're tattooed/mirco-chipped with our "GB-ID number" the happier the authorities will be. I'm glad my grandparents fought for freedom!!

KT Davies, Truro, Cornwall

Is it April 1st????

Chris, shrewsbury,

I don't know whether this is a joke or not. If it isn't then once again it's this meddling, nannying, crony, nimbyist government sticking their noses in to peoples' private lives. I think this whole 'protecting us from terrorism' thing has gone too far. Cameron will get in soon anyway.

Rob T, London, UK

5 November 2008 - Britain will march against oppression

Britain unite! The fifth of November is a historical day for our country. I urge you to pause from your every day affairs, march to our nearest government building, and PROTEST. this government oppression WILL NOT STAND.

FREEDOM, NOT FEAR!

Tony Mullen, London,

When a scientist was asked what defence applications his invention might have, he answered "none, but that it might make our country worth defending."

Ben, York,

government trying for the longest detention without charge period in the "civilised" world

Thalia, London

thats not true, check Italy for example in the meredith kercher murder trial all three suspects can and have been held for a YEAR without charge.

chris, leeds, uk

The points I which to raise have already been covered. But I feel must post a comment to voice my complete digust at this, and all other government proposals which are designed to erode our liberties.

What happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'?

Steve, Norwich,

What the people from Europe are missing is we already have the biggest CCTV network in the world, the biggest DNA database in the world, the government trying for the longest detention without charge period in the "civilised" world and a whole raft of other databases the government promptly sell.

Thalia, london,

It would easy and a lot less hasle just to find the mobile using the phone towers and direction finding after all will they have a UK address or passport. I have a UK phone for in the UK, a China mobile and an Australian passport no one
has to register in China were they sell only unlocked phones

James Hendry, Shenzhen , China

Hey, a similar system in the US for restricting gun sales has been very effective (NOT!). Bad people don't buy things - they steal 'em!!

Paul, mystic, usa

Missing the point here I think. All serious criminals and terrorists will use false passports and cloned identities to get phones.

So if you get woken up in the middle of the night by armed officers smashing your door down and detained for 42 days you'll know a terrorist has used you're details

andy, oxford, UK

We're all guilty of something, it's just we don't know it yet. Hence the need for more Anti-laws as it can be justified.
Just wait till Zasi-Labour use the Anti-terror law for the General Election. Failing to register with Zasi-Labour will lead to 28 days detention under the Terrorism Act.

Lam, Telford,

Soon people in China will have more freedom and privacy then people in the rest of the world

David, Zhuhai, China

I watch in horror as the "War on Terror" gradually erodes all our traditional freedoms.

The terrorists have won.

Tony Giles, Hong Kong, China

I'm all for it. Have had insulting/offensive texts & calls at all times of day and night. The police have tried to trace the numbers involved, but they are all from unregistered PAYG mobile phones. So I have no choice but to put up with it. Can't change my number as it's business and advertised!

Cheryl, Horsham, West Sussex

In italy recently I went to use an internet cafe and had to show my passport. The owner was very apologetic but said it was now anti-terrorism law in italy. They already have id cards in most of Europe.

The lights of freedom are going out all over the world right now and a long darkness settles.

Neil Murphy, Cromer,

This is stupid!!! why waste millions, maybe billions of the countries money while its already struggling economically, also the criminals will go back to microfilm and other forms of communication so they will catch less terrorists than they do now, i'd like to hear david Cameron's view on this

ben, lincoln, uk

I'm beginning to think the mark will be a literal one after all, anyone for the microchip, roll on Yeshua's return.

Lee, Midlands,

Wow, and I thought our government couldn't come up with any more stupid ideas. I was obviously wrong.

Franziska, Sevenoaks, UK

Nice Move...
Once all phones are registered, just type in persons name then using cell triangulation, find out exactly where that person is at any time, assuming they have their phone with them.
Will i sleep easier at night knowing that HMG are watching over me.... will I bugger !

Nigel Thain, Milton Keynes, UK

I bought my phone here in the United Arab Emirates and it works overseas, including the UK. How will this law monitor phones from overseas?

Matt, Dubai,

So, to buy a £10 phone now you have to spend £100 on a passport? What a crazy idea! When my daughter was at uni in Italy, I had to buy sim cards for all her friends, as none had the Italian tax ID code. The passport alone wasn't enough, as there are too many fakes around.

G Baldo, London, UK

Perhaps the government should require us to wear recording equipment at all times so that they have a permanent copy of everything we ever say to anyone. Imagine how many lives could be saved from terrorist attacks!

Tim, Edinburgh,

David Icke has warned us that standard procedure is to publish something wild and outrageous, then what they really wanted to put in place all along seems quite reasonable in comparison.
Either this is what is happening, or our overlords are mad, bad, dangerous and technologically illiterate

Max Cordell, London,

Obviously they won't register handsets - pointless when people discard them so frequently. They'll register simcards. Handset is useless without one.

James, Hatfield,

I don't mind proving who I am to get access to the phone network. It is the hidden agenda, recording calls "just in case" which is objectionable, especially with this government's record of maintaining information security.

garryq, sunderland, uk

Besides privacy, PAYG phones also have the advantage of zero costs if you don't make outgoing calls. I can imagine this trapping the very poor in a situation where they need a PAYG phone to get a job, a job to get a passport, and a passport to get the phone. Every extra regulation hurts someone.

_Felix, Nottingham,

It was recently reported about the number of illegal mobile phones in prisons. If the Home Office cannot control areas where the population is locked up it is nonsense to suggest it can control the population at large. Time we voted these potential dictators out. before they abolish elections.

John , Alford, England

innocent till proven guilty, not guilty till proven innocent! people have no such right to impose regulations of this kind in what is suppose to be a free society, people are only just realising how radical this government is

Josh, Manchester, England

Well, how long will it be before they rename the passports, which you'll be using to buy mobile phones with, with Airstrip One?

Brian Castro, New York, USA

Mobile phones can be used to set off bombs, as in Madrid. Pay as you go phones can also be used to make almost untraceable calls.

Controversial, yes. Unjustified, no.

Ben, York,

Would the last person to leave the country please remember to turn off the lights?

Seems that our grotesque politicians plan a future Britain that is just too awful to contemplate.

Definitely time to emigrate because the people of this country are sleepwalking into something truly dreadful.

Emily, London,

This is ludicrous, and immoral. Mobile phones are one thing, but the internet is another. The web provides people with true freedom of speech and anonimity, yes this can be used for the wrong reasons, but taking this away is against our rights as human beings. Whats next? Human thought monitoring?

Kriss Moeller, Wells-next-the-Sea, England

Please people, vote out these dictators asap!

steve, Pontypridd, Wales

What has happened to Britain?

Luggo, Lubbock, Texas

What's next from New Labour? Compulsory micro-chipping at birth, with retrospective chipping for the "I've got nothing to hide brigade" first. The 'mark of the beast' indeed. The Uk is going to hell in a hand-basket!

Dr Mush, NSW, Australia

I bought a friend a mobile phone (pay as you go) for christmas last year. My name is associated with that phone I guess. I think I'd have a strong legal case to defend myself with. All that will happen is one person will buy 900 phones and give them out.

Arthur, Newcastle,

The Big Brother system? We are now at the time where we are living in a society where all men are created equal and have freedom - as long as it's approved by the powers that be. And people just accept that it's for our safety... So much for human rights.

Lauren , London,

Well, if they need to spy on everyone then there's obviously something they're hiding in the closet, and are afraid we might find out about.

Let me guess - David Icke has been warning / writing about it for quite a while. Are we listening / reading?

John Marble, Birmingham,

Disgusting! The Brits are better than this, and do not need another underhanded, Orwellian scheme. I hope these people get mugged daily!

No offense meant, but you in Britain, should never have given up the guns. Now you have to get back to swords, eh?

Randall, Grass Valley, USA

If the government made it illegal to buy telecommunications services and equipment with cash, then this would make more sense.

David, London, England

What are they afraid of, that they need to spy on everybody all the time?

Hereward, Mankato, MN, USA

Welcome to Britain, where you're guilty until proven innocent. But proving innocence takes too much time and effort, so you're just guilty. Yay for dictatorships?

Graham J. Fox, Shrewsbury, England

Isn't a democratic government supposed to represent and support the views of its people? I am deeply surprised how the government continually tries to change this country into a surveillance state although it is crystal clear that the large majority of its people do not wish this at all. What gives?

Jannik, London,

What terrorists did cause the present financial chaos? Why did not GCHQ intercept communications among the fraudsters in banks and other financial institutions attempting to defraud the commmon people of UK? If GCHQ concentrated only on these characters, UK could have avoided this terrible trouble.

Dr Alok Bhattacharyya, London, UK

"lf you are law abiding you have nothing to fear"

Tell that to the Nazis' victims. This argument is so ignorant and wrong, it makes me cringe each time I hear it. By spying on everyone the assumption that you are innocent till proven guilty is done away with. We all automatically become guilty.

Ebrahim, Cape Town,

"surveillance society" is good only if it helps the voters directly, for instance if my car was broken into I would like to see all CCTV footage in the area, because my experience of thefts in the UK have usually been dealt with by the police, as a joke in that nothing satisfactory has been done

james, Newport, RI, USA

Ellie,
"However, they have accepted it and got on with their lives, rather than making it into a ridiculous uproar, which says more about the people making it than the government"
It also says a lot about the attitude of the French & the Spanish to state power and your comment says most about you.

Steve, Walthamstow,

TO : Moses Lambert, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

YES, I.D.card, passport and possibly a MICROCHIP is going to be needed to buy food.

However, if you open your Bible, you`ll find this is not just going to be in Britain - but ALSO in the good ole USA - and WORLDWIDE.

Michael A., Cornwall, United Kingdom

Meanwhile many countries, especially in Central Europe, South America and South Africa, are adopting laws to remedy privacy violations that occurred under previous authoritarian regimes.

Kirsten, Nottingham, England

In the old Soviet Union every typewriter had to be registered with the KGB, with samples of letters so that any anti-government documents could be tracked down to their source.

Michael, Bury, UK

Will any of the phone companies take a stand by refusing to co-operate? I'd be willing to swap providers to any company that publicly pledges to oppose this.

Richard, Cambridge,

What about small online retailers, who refurbish phones and sell them, they will be put out of business, as "legit" customers are not going to pass on passport details to an "eBay" seller.
Yet again it seem's this goverment is trying to ruin small businesses.

Sam, Cambridgeshire,

Question: I buy a mobile phone and am asked to present my passport; a month later, the phone gets stolen/lost; that same phone is then used days later in a terrorist act unbeknownst to me; will I then get detained for 28 days?

Richard, Marlow, UK

Meg from Pembs - how often do you buy a mobile phone?

sarah, france, france

I needed a reason to give up my phone......thank you jacqui....you star... and thats what I will be doing but until then I shall be emailing my PM stating if the gov wants my data they should pay me for access. Presently I'm lawabiding but that has a shelf life HMG dont push it.....

Mike, Leeds,

The way things are going in the UK, im strongly considering emigration to a country which still allows its citizens freedom, like the USA. I strongly admire the USA as a nation, americans are right to be proud that they live in such a great land with true freedom.

chris, truro, UK

What about the risks to privacy and family life?
For example people who are (perfectly legally) having an affair, could be caught out because of this, perhaps breaking up a family.

Alan, Brighton, England

This might be all very nice for the large companies, but the used phone business on eBay etc etc, will be destroyed, as buyers are not going to send passport details to a eBay seller.
So many more small companies will be put out of business by this poor quality goverment. Why not ban the criminals!

Sam, Cambridgeshire,

This might be all very nice for the large companies, but the used phone business on eBay etc etc, will be destroyed, as buyers are not going to send passport details to a eBay seller.
So many more small companies will be put out of business by this poor quality goverment. Why not catch the criminals

Sam, Cambridgeshire,

To Svo in the US....Not true what you say. You can go to any store, 7 Eleven, Best Buy etc and purchase a pre-paid or pay as you go phone without giving information. When you activate the phone, you can choose to use a credit card or top up cards. Anyone can use any bogus name they want to activate.

J. Salerno, Prague, Czech Rep.

Ever heard of displacement theory? Pay as go criminals will just use mobile phones bought elsewhere in the world - who'd think they'd be that coordinated.... Does anyone in government have an informed education? Is this level of surveillance worth it?? Monitor 60m to find <100; bad science.

conrad gills, London, England

That will be another database to loose

Rex lester, Surbiton, UK

Terrorists and criminals will use false ID. This is just another turn of the screw towards a National ID card. What is 'official Identification'? I don't have a passport, or a photo ID driving licence.

Ron, Milton Keynes, UK

I'm not sure which is more likely, the 'big brother' government using this personal information to restrict my freedom - or the incompetant government losing the information in the post, on a memory stick, on a train ...

Mark, Plymouth,

"That's already the case in US (you provide your Social Security Number and state ID) " I purchased two prepaid phones in the US in February 2008 in a well known supermarket and paid cash - I was not asked for any ID.
This is just another lot of information the government can "loose"

Jacqui, Northampton, UK

Simple solution to avoid this? Buy your PAYG mobile phone privately - second hand. If the original purchaser registered THEIR name and address with the fascist powers-that-be, they'll still have their details registered for that phone. Slot in your own SIM card and you've bypassed Big Brother.

Vim, UK,

The invention of mobile phones did not cause terrorism or crime.

Making them harder but not impossible to own will not stop terrorism or crime.

It will just annoy a huge number of law-abiding people.

But then again that's what government is for.

David Short, London, UK

yes, exactly Alan, you live in Thailand a country not exactly known for freedom of speech.
We are handing over our right to privacy all too easily. We will regret this in later years.

sue, London,

If this measure comes in, surely those who wish to get around it will simply buy phones over the internet from other countries. Does the government really think this will do anything to combat terrorism?

Eleanor, Manchester, UK

Good job terrorists can't write letters or send postcards, isn't it. What a pathetic, ill thought out idea. Just exactly what you would expect from the morons in power.

Paul Downes, Milton Keynes, UK

No problem I live in a country where I have to do that already. It makes it one more thing that any terrorist has to get around. As far as I am concerned I see no problem with registering my mobile number any more than I do registering for a landline.

Alan Lewis, Bangkok, Thailand

So, this hateful government is going to throw more millions of our money into a scheme which criminals will easily be able to circumvent by simply stealing a phone. Kids are already being mugged for phones - this is going to make it worse because they're the softest target.

michelle, Stoke,

cell phones that can view through ones eyes, and read verbal thoughts. Ear phones can get inside ones head, and British controllers can figure out if you paid your taxes or not.

pie, redlands, ca, United States

Are we no longer entitled to any privacy whatsoever? All this will achieve is further hassle for the innocent with no effect on the real criminals at all.

Spadge, Bathgate, Scotland

Criminals will still be able to get phones that can't be traced to them by using fraudulent identification details, potentially creating a new trade in pre-registered SIM cards. Meanwhile, those who do not have a passport or driving licence will be denied something they may need. Idiotic.

David, London, England

everyone just swap phones .

Benzo, Nr Chelmsford,

has anyone seen "V for Vendetta?" does anything ring a bell??? wake up people!!!

lilis, london,

On, the whole, Governments don't lack information about us, just something intelligent to do with it.

Frank Upton, Solihull,

That's already the case in US ( you provide your Social Security Number and state ID) and in Russia (you need a to register your passport)

Svo, Bumblefuck, USA

I used to be proud to be British. But this idea that anyone who is not on their little cabal is untrustworthy and the enforcement and encouragement of paranoia amongst the country has destroyed the cohesion of our society. I hope the people behind this and ID cards can face their children.

ED , Swansea, Wales

mobile phones have long been functionally able to act in the same manner as tags used on criminals. As for us taking the soft option and cricising through post like this get the media to monitor how people really vote at the next election!

Dave, Chorley,

what happens when a phone is stolen, or bought abroad where controls are diferent or someone steals your SIM card from your phone.

I use my phone a couple of times a month, it could be weeks before I notice its stolen, does that make me liable for all calls taken in the mean time?

Mike FW, Porth, United Kingdom

about time something was done lf you are law abiding you have nothing to fear, they should also have make it compulsary to have a licences for pets

kristina nowak, hayes, united kingdom

I don't think this is an overly cautious approach.. i'm traveling Australia just now and you need to show a passport/drivers licence to purchase a PAYG mobile here.

What's the big deal?

Andrew Martin, Glasgow/Melbourne, Scotland/Oz

What happened to this country? Well the 'british' don't exist, but the English became the cowardliest in Europe, preferring to post on forums like this than get their hands dirty.

Harold Stone, Standish, England

Already they can track you from a switched on phone. By the law of unintended consequences, this will be used to hurt more citizens by passing the power to councils etc. The terrorists have won, we walk in fear, we dare not question. The police are obsessed by thought crime and will arrest us.

Chris, Southport, UK

A logistical nightmare springs to mind for making existing pay as you go customers provide identification. I cannot see the mobile networks consenting to the manpower involved in achieving this without an inflated financial compensation package attached to it - at our expense of course!

Richard, Derby, England

Come on, we've been doing this for years in France, there's nothing to be frightened of.
Only snag is if employee at Orange (or such) forgets to transmit your data, as happened to me. Your line is disconnected, and when you call Orange customer services, they think you stole the SIM card or sth

helene, Bristol, Paris,

This is why we won't give up our guns in the USA. You guys are out-doing even Bush-Cheney!

What the heck happened to the British? You've fully embraced totalitarianism!

Puzzled

Randolf Smith, Ann Arbor, USA

So, let's wave goodbye to what remains of our already limited civil liberties.

It makes me wonder if anyone in central gvt. has got any connection whatsoever to the real world. What is this going to create, save more data to be lost?

Simon, Auckland, NZ

National governments are the greatest threat to liberty on Earth. The second greatest threat to liberty are people who think that the government is out to protect us. Government no longer serves the people. It serves itself and its own dangerous, and often criminal, interests.

David, Blacksburg, USA

To all the French, Spanish and other folks who want to know why we won't be sheeple and just accept it because you do:

All because you are happy to surrender and be monitored all the time, it doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Why should we surrender our liberty all because you surrendered yours?

MH, Devon, UK

Talk about an Orwellian Nightmare.

Next thing you know, they will introduce TVs that watch you back.

George T, Seattle, USA

And presumably it means that everyone who sells a mobile phone ... like teenage lads who work on Saturdays in their local Carphone Warehouse .. will have to be security screened too as they'll have to have access to the database.

Mike Gray, Brentford,

All that will happen will be the resale of used mobile phones or people buying mobile phones on behalf of others. Easy to circumvent. When this fails to work as an effective tracking device/deterrent , then "chipping" will be the more attractive option.

Patrick, Singapore, Singapore

The 1945-51 labour government lost in 1951 due to one reason, the public hated the time wasting form filling and spying on the black market with ordinary citizens paid to inform on people, plus other time wasting efforts. GB look at history it's about to happen again. Fools more fools.

James , Brighton, England

I guess I wasn't paying attention in history class because I "thought" that the Allies had defeated the Nazis in WW II? Apparently, they won the war and now run the British government.

Chuck, Portland, Oregon, USA

Here its been compulsory to show proper id before buying a pay as you go mobilephone for a few years now. It was done to stop criminals and gangs using untraceable phones. You are registered when you own a car, when you have an ordinary phone installed in your home - this isnt much different.

Anders, Oslo, Norway

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin, 1759 "Those who give up their Liberty(Freedom) for security deserve neither"
Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. ~Abraham Lincoln

John holiday, PORTLAND , USA

I think governments are taking advantage of our fear of terrorist attacks and using them to bring us to our knees. I fear for the future of my children, they will never know the freedoms that I grew up in. Our country is headed in the same direction, they just do it with a bit more stealth.

Irene, tampa, usa

I am sure the government will introduce ways to buy a phone without a passport. And yes,people probably will get round it, but there will be some criminals who can't. As for CCTV,my friend might've died after being attacked had the police not seen the CCTV footage going on. It's all for our safety.

Amy, harrogate, UK

let's do it we don't know who is in the country,do notthing wrong you will be ok.

derek buttle, billingham, stockton-on-tees

I do not have a passport,I dont want one,cant afford one,will never use one.Does this mean my life is on hold because they will not accept other forms of identifcation,what identification do you need to get a passport.I feel we are going round in circles here

Denis, Chelmsford, Essex, UK.

1) Order an unlocked phone online from Germany or France
2) Buy prepaid simcard (not phone)
3) Anonymism Surely the UK government doesn't think criminals are that stupid? The only people they will be monitoring are the innocent citizens!

Drew, Surry Hills, Australia

Frightening. Britons must stand up against their government on this one. And if the U.S. follows suit, we must do the same.

Scott, California,

Soon, we'll need a "door-pass" when leaving our homes. The writing is appearing on the wall!

brian keating, agde, france

I would prefer to die from a terrorist bomb than to lose my liberty and freedom to a police state.

John Taylor, London,

Bring back the red boxes!

Dennis Eagan, Colorado Springs, US

Invasive to the point I dont even want to get into it!

If you want to see Revolution, your going the right way about it!

Freedom will prevail!

Andrew, Durham, England

Having a passport has controlled international crime and terrorism so well we can now use this document to control the purchase of a mobile. Fools whats next.... prohibition

Bernie , Auckland, nz

This government just lurches from one stupid idea to another ID cards ,42 days, secret inquests etc and then have to do a U turn later . It would be interesting to know how much money they have wasted to flesh out these ideas.
The government is no longer taken seriously or trusted by the people.

Kim, Bristol,

This could actually have a positive side effect if people opted to ditch their mobiles. Can anyone really say that life wasn't better without one?

Jonathan, Oxfordshire, England

Oh just stick a tagging chip inside us all and be done with it.

What a ridiculous plan. Do you really think terrorists pop into carphone warehouse to buy their phones?

tom, london,

Shouldn't the UK invest first in how to keep the existing confidential data safe than rather invest in more ways to get private/confidential? The list of cases where sensible data is lost or misplaced is already embarrassing...

Ricardo, Bath, UK

Why are people arguing that it's okay because they do this in Europe anyway? We shouldn't care what they do in Europe. This is Britain we're talking about.

E Keelson, Irishtown, Ireland

Next step will be for Nu Labour to say "You're right, asking for passports is such an intrusion. Now, ID cards will make this process so much simpler".

i.e. it's the old - request something outrageous, wait for the outrage, back off a little, gets accepted gratefully.

Except, we say NO !

Clive, Surrey,

Forget the economic crisis the real threat to the country is the encroaching police state. Why are we standing by letting this happen? Where are all the protests? Who do I vote for to restore our eroded civil liberties?? Someone really needs to make some noise about this.

David, Leeds, UK

Terrorists will simply steal phones and clone sim cards! Another ill conceived plan by simpleton politicians to make a problem worse! Why not simply dispense with the formality of democracy and just tell everyone what to do and think. It worked for Hitler and Stalin.

Chris, London,

I cant believe people are still trotting out the "I do nothing wrong" arguement when the state uses anti-terror laws to monitor wheelie-bins and freeze Iceland's assets, and a man is arrested for something that is not a crime in the UK cos the EU says so. You don't know what you've done wrong yet...

Tim, London,

Yes another example of the 1984 Big Brother State that Brown and Labour seem hell bent on introducing in Britain. Yet another reason for the UK electorate to never trust or vote Labour ever again!

Chris Bovey, Totnes, Devon, UK

This is absolutely ridiculous. By doing this they would be denying us freedom. We shouldn't all have to be watched just because of certain individuals.

John, Manchester,

when did the UK become more fascist than the US? Are the British people going to sit on their hands and watch the prison walls be built around them?

Wade Stutler, San Diego, USA

My brother doesn't drive, so photo-driving license, and never been abroad so doesn't have a passport. Looks like he'll never be allowed to change his pay-as-you-go phone now either! This is completely unworkable: what about second-hand sales, and roaming handsets brought in from abroad?

James, Oxford,

A cunning ruse, so more people have to spend the 70 quid to buy a passport? Government taxation by the back door again!

Liz, Ely, Cambridgshire, UK

Once again this is a classic example of people losing their liberties for the cover of "safety"!!! Doesn't the Enlightenment mean anything to you people anymore?!!!

Christina, Omaha, NE, USA

What about small online retailers, who refurbish phones and sell them, they will be put out of business, as "legit" customers are not going to pass on passport details to an "eBay" seller.
Yet again it seem's this goverment is trying to ruin small businesses, and allow big companies to profit more.

Sam, Cambridge,

Hands up anyone who thinks a real terrorist would be so silly as to use a genuine passport, driving licence, or any other ID for anything, let alone to buy a mobile phone in the country where they plan evil. It's just another Big Brother piece of nonsense and empire building (aka job creation) .

E.Cowham, Melbourne, Australia

I just hope that it doesn't hit the United States, but sadly it probably will.

Robert, Lancaster, United States

Welcome to the UK open prison where every aspect of your life is monitored.

And when you need to be crushed, then crushed you will be

Willie Mac, Arden,

can't see a problem. If your not a criminal. Do you really think the government want to know or are interested in, what drunken antics my mate got up to last night, or what time were all going to meet at the local, when we discuss on the phone.
No!

Keith , chester,

What about when you buy a phone from eBay?

Alex, London,

This, of course, won't do what the Gov. pretends it is for, as many here have said.
What if I want to take a photo in a public place? This used to be completely legal too, but now people are getting abused and arrested by UK police for this.
Pit I am not a fat banker: I could get the hell out !

Garry, Barnstaple, UK

If anybody can be found from the Conservative Party to authoritatively confirm that this whole sinister idea will be trashed upon their taking office,it will,I am certain,persuade the four remaining lab. voters to change their allegiance.
J Wood
this assumes all voters are capable of cogent thought.

Marco, Kraków, Poland

You can take my cell phone when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

bob, california,

Thomas, San Antonio, TX, USA
no, Times readers have been able to think for many years, but this doesn't mean that the majority of the general public are able to think, too.

Marco, Kraków, Poland

All the data will be for sale on a website within weeks of the system going live , and thousands will be harassed by abusive partners who can trace them through the system. Another Success by the Brisish Stazi.

Andrew, Somewhere, Secret

Any terrorist with half a brain cell will get around it. A first class stamp on a letter will do it - or did I miss the bit about opening every Royal Mail item/parcel to see what is inside. As for emails I can think of one way of using the system without ever sending an email. This is the Stasi!

gary, swindon, UK

Is this the same government talking as the one that keeps losing memory sticks, private data of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of computers with sensitive data that would be of very good use to real terrorists?
I would happily give up my cell instead of trusting this unreliable bunch.

Jerzy, Kenmore,

Well, since Vodaphone appears to be the Cellphone company being most co-operative about this piece of Stasi surveillance legislation may I suggest that Vodaphone users change to another provider? Like another commenter said - hit the phone compan where it hurts - money - and see how the attitu chang

RM, Southampton, UK

By the looks of these comments, I think the British public may be waking up finaly, and thank god. I have been watching what has been going on in Britian for years now with much dismay. True freedom requires responsibility. The government is removing responsibility, you do the math!!!!

Thomas, San Antonio, TX, USA

In Europe what the government does is pay the mobile phone operators for access to their databases.

It's my data. I would like to have access as well because that's where the money is.

k, Belgium,

so you'll have to prove your ID to purchase just like you do for a TV set. what's the problem? in fact let's go a little further. its quite usual to have to buy a license to operate RF equipment, so why not for mobile phones?

barry, woking, uk

Typical half hearted NuLabour approach - criminals and terrorists like mobile phones? It's money they like, not the phones - ban money!!

andrew barnes, LONDON, uk

I just Labour's myopia and the one-size fits all approach. Why does the majority have to suffer because of the inability of Government and its agencies to keep tabs on a minority.

So, I have no passport and no driving licence. Am I expected to remain silent and have no phone?

Another vote winner

Chris Williams, Leicester , UK

Relax guys! If people can get into this country without a passport what makes you think people will need one to buy a phone?!

Fabio C, London, UK

What happens if you don't have either a passport or a driving licence?

I would think there is a very good case that this will impact in a discriminatory way against older women (and possibly also Asian women).

Rosemary, Cambridge,

Crime and terrorism? This government is really pushing the envelope with bad excuses. Since when was it hard for a criminal or a terrorist to get a fake passport? 42 days, national databases and now this. "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither"

Alex, Lancaster,

and if you buy the phone overseas?

Ian, Knutsford, UK

How reassuring it is to know that we we have such intellectual giants working on new ways to protect us.
Could one of them spare the time to explain why anyone would buy a phone anyway when it is so much easier to mug a pensioner and steal one.

Fred, Cambridge,

I must read 1984 again but this time start to tick off various points which has now come true or in the process of comming true.
The population of the UK will become a society of underground dealers.

Hugo, Blandford Forum, UK

If anybody can be found from the Conservative Party to authritatively confirm that this whole sinister idea will be trashed upon their taking office in 2010, it will, I am certain, persuade the four remaining labour voters to change their allegiance.

John Wood, Uxbridge, UK

I work in the mobile industry: this will not work. At all. Roaming SIMs from countries which don't require any registration (ie, most of them) are the easy way round it. Also, if networks are forced to disconnect all the prepay customers who refuse to register, they'll go bust. Genius plan!

David, LONDON, UK

And how many tens of thousands of civil servants will be required to put all of this information into the database And what guarantee is there that the system will cope - the fabulous National Health system hasn't and never will And what happens when it goes missing?

John, kouvola, Finland

Before the advent of mobile phones, every phone number was linked to a name, except of course public payphones. This is all this law is doing. What's the problem? And have people already forgotten how the Madrid bombs were activated?

D Cavanagh, Tokyo,

I feel sorry for you Brits, I'm so glad I no longer live in that Police state country. when are you brits going to have a revolution and take back your country?

Dave Wier, Idaho, USA

All the government needs to do these days is attach the label 'anti-terrorism' to any law it fancies....pretty soon we will be arrestable for anything, all in the name of safeguarding the country. It's ridiculous and we must fight this erosion of our freedoms.

Alex, London,

The European Human Rights Act determines that every citizen is entitled to a private life - this should be fought every inch of the way.
With CCTV being used to prosecute "serious crime" such as litter dropping, where this this latest piece of State snooping lead?

Nick, Bristol, UK

Take a look at the "Gun Registry" here is Canada. Lots of opposition, especially from our wilderness citizens for whom long guns are an essential tool. But the real point is that the registry has cost millions of dollars and, while still going on, is an abject failure. Criminals don't register guns.

Daniel Bruce, Mahone Bay, Canada

Since the computing power of mobile phones grows every day, smart phones will be able to incorporate scrambling software similar to that in landline based scramblers which encrypt and decrypt conversations. Although I suspect it is already illegal to write such software.

John, Manchester,

My mother is 83, has never travelled overseas and has no intention of doing so at this stage in her life. She has a pay-as-you-go phone which is all she needs for her use. What the hell is she supposed to do if she needs a new one? She can't walk more than a few yards!!

fannie, denver, usa

Jay, Nottingham - Correct, just because the French, Spanish etc are already doing this doesn't make it a 'good idea'. However, they have accepted it and got on with their lives, rather than making it into a ridiculous uproar, which says more about the people making it than the government

Ellie , Rennes, France

If technology is the answer to terrorism, how is it that the US - the society with the best technology on the planet - can't find Bin Laden ?


Bin Laden knows (as terrorists/criminals tend to) what techniques/technologies the "good guys" (sic) use and plans his actions accordingly.

Won't work

Clive, Surrey,

If the government are going to record all my conversations and e-mails, does this mean I do not need to record or back anything up again? Can I just contact my MP to recover the information for me?

Chris Clarke, Dronfield, UK

Another step closer to dictatorship. I bet you in Russia or China even China don't do that. By 2015 this country will not be democratic any more. They are useing criminals and terrorists to do this. I don't trust this goverment any more.

Marko, Birmingham, UK

Whatever happened to "If we lose our freedoms, the terrorists have won"?

Tim, Toronto,

This is a complete waste of time and impossible to police. The real criminals will just buy secondhand phones. This is only going to effect law abiding citizens who very soon will have no rights at all to privacy under this government.
Could'nt agree with you more J Jenkins.

C Myers, East Sussex,

Great! This control should prevent the illegitimate use of mobile phones. Just like banning handguns prevented gun crime. - Didn't it?

Tony Collins, Redruth, UK

I understand the next step is to require a passport and a police permit to buy food...
What in the world has happened to all you Brits, that you allow yourselves to be treated this way?

Moses Lambert, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

I have a great idea! How about not buyng a cell phone? How about hurting the corporations and the governments who are paid off by them? It's your money, you have the power, not them. Stop buying cell phones, let them go broke. Then the laws will change in your favor...

john, st. pete, fl, USA

Hmmmm... ID cards by the back door perhaps??

Derrick, MK, UK

You already have to do this in France. I was quite surprised when I couldn't buy a mobile phone without presenting my passport!

Rebecca, Nice, France

Yawn. Life in Britain is becoming/already is a sad joke. Every facet of our comings and goings will be scruitinised by inept fools unable to see the wood for the trees. Statistics will be manip...produced to prove how effective these new measures are. Meanwhile everyone else will read celebrity mags

Adrian, Hitchin, UK

What fatuous fat-headed absurd Nu labour STUPIDITY. I have 4 already, several bought abroad. There are 2.7 BILLION cellphones in the world already. Before this becomes law, a billion more, with topped up PP accounts, will probably be bought. A Truly CRETINOUS idea from the Nu Labour control freaks

George Edwards, Beijing, China

This government has one thing in mind - the total destruction of this country as a democracy and its conversion into a hi tech annex of North Korea.

Geo, Glasgow,

Surely by now even "Steve, Stevenage, UK" has worked out that the only people Nu Labour's laws DON'T affect are the criminals? This Steve, is because CRIMINALS DON'T OBEY LAWS! That's why they're called ...... Oh, never mind.

George Edwards, Beijing, China

Fred, HK, I agree with you, and your suggestion is just the tip of the problem. Why don't they just chip us and be done with all this pussyfooting about? Why am I more afraid of my own govt than the terrrrrsts?!? Because I know which is the more incompetent with "private" data.

SimonT, Edinburgh, UK

Great, so the market for second hand mobile PAYG phones will rocket. I can see a new business opportunity arising. Mobile phone swap-shop.

Michael, Liverpool, UK

from the sounds of it the govt thinks terrorists cant afford or wont pay roaming costs, If they really want to damage a city 49p a min wont stop them.
I get the impression there is another reason for this, along the lines of identity cards built into your mobile, like ur credit cards can be

Rob, London,

Terrorism is using violence, or the threat of violence to achieve a political end.

If someone from the Home Office is reading this, and they probably are, could they tell me if the threat of violence applies equally if made by a third party? We must change because the men with guns say we must?!

Anthony Sampson, London, England

"This happens in France, Spain so it must be good" No it isn't, it doesn't make the slightest difference to whether the British would want this totalitarian system or not.

Jay, Nottingham, UK

I'm sure 'criminals and terrorists' won't bat an eyelid in stealing phones from law abiding citizens, rendering the millions invested in this project, completely, and utterly *useless*.

Andrew, Guildford, UK

Can Britain really still be classed as a Liberal Democracy or is it now a totalitarian state? The government proposes to record all communication, in London our travel is recorded, lwe can all be imprisoned without trial for 28days. This is another terrifying step

Diana, London,

Mobile phone licensing is the next big move.
Personal Computers too.
It is all about taxing us more and controlling all of us.
Am I wrong??
Well?
You can defeat this nightmare only by solidarity.
Turn them off leave and them off.
The big money men will do the rest..

rick, newcastle, uK

To stop terrorism, it is no use making it difficult to get a phone without being traced, it has to be IMPOSSIBLE. Making it difficult just hurts ordinary law abiding citizens, (about the only thing that this government is good at). But they can't make it impossible, so they should just give up now.

Pete, IoW,

So people will have to carry their passports more...so passports will be easier to steal...so identity theft will increase...so terrorists will be able to use false identities more...
Beautiful reasoning by our misguided government.

Meg, Pembs,

Legislation like this oppresses the law abiding, the criminals will work around it. I don't want to live in a country where the government thinks it has a duty to spy on the people it is supposed to represent. You watch, Labour will be PULLED from power.

Darren, Nottingham, England

"But they are also used by thousands of law-abiding citizens who wish to communicate in private."

Just imagine.. 'thousands' of the 40m payg phones aren't used by criminals.

David, Sevenoaks/London, UK

The way the article is presented seems to indicate that there are millions of criminals using these pre-paid mobile phones and yet only thousands of innocent citizens using them.

Hill, Aquitaine, France

Surely if I were a criminal or terrorist - the latter presumably with access to large financial support - I would simply buy my pay-as-you-go mobile phones from France (or any other state sensible enough not to have any truck with this nonsense).

Mike Bidgood, Aberdeen,

So all that will happen is that the people they claim to be combating, i.e. organised criminals, will simply use their contacts to get fake passports and use them to buy the sim cards.

Yet another erosion of ALL our liberties under claims of fighting crime.

Alex, London,

Hooray what a splendid idea, so much better than some of the other ideas people have, (Freedom Pah!) Can I suggest that when this becomes law, as it surely should, we re-start the calendar at, say Year 0 .

Wat Tyler, London,

This pathetic Government think they just have to mention the words either terrorist or climate and they can do whatever they like, hopefully that will all stop in 2010 or fingers crossed sooner.

PeteFergie, Bristol, UK

I can't understand the fuss over the need to show identification when purchasing mobile phones. The reality is that at the moment there is no control over mobile phones which benifits those intending to comit crimes or to make nuisance calls.

Alan Moir, Rheindahlen, Germany

This is fine, Italy have had this policy for many years, as have many many other countries. I guess the conspiracy theorists are out in droves though!

I dont trust the government one iota, war criminals each and every one of them. But this isnt a big thing.

steven, london, england

Another ridiculous idea from a discredited Government that uses the "anti-terrorism" excuse to keep us all under surveillance. Any criminal, or law-abiding person who values their privacy, will quickly, and easily find their round this latest crackpot proposal.

Neil, Gloucestershire, England

I tend to agree with the new systen unveiled, but I do not think that it will stop terrorism since there are many ways for them to get phones from abroad.
There is a chinese saying : The safest door is the one that you can lave it open.

Proud to be British!

Adrian Qerreti, London, London

How to create a Black Market. Take members of Common Purpose and mix well with moronic Government policy makers. Leave stand for a few weeks. Uncork and enjoy the Criminal fraternities new and improved Black Market Ventures. Freely available to all.

Nik Morris, Brynmawr, Wales

"The pay-as-you-go phones are popular with criminals and terrorists"

Oh yes, because the government really has an accurate tally of who the terrorists are...

This whole terrorism thing is a complete sham. They use them to impose Big Brother on everyone else.

Neil, London, England

And what about the millions upon millions who already have phones?

And does the government not think the "terrorists" (if they knew who these people were, they would already be in jail) would just keep their existing phones???

This is the lamest, most non-existent excuse in history.

Neil, London, England

Everyone, we can stop this from happening. A simple thing you can all do right now, is to sign this petition and pass it on to as many people as you can.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/privacy-matters/

Chris Jenkins, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom

1. Buy phone
2. Buy SIM editor
3. ????
4. PROFIT

Tom, Immingham,

"The pay-as-you-go phones are popular with criminals and terrorists" Hold on ... popular means there are many .... now criminals maybe but i believe there to be a vast difference between the two, is there some kind of massive terrorist fraternity we have been ill-informed about? i doubt it!

Lewis Sutton, derby,

It interesting to note that much criticism comes from people who have left UK and live abroad. I'm not surprised they've left and with this financial disaster created by Brown, I'm afraid I'm about to do the same. Huge decision to be forced to leave one's homeland, but enough is enough.

Mike, Guildford, Surre

Trusting the government? The UK-US extradition treaty was supposed to be an anti-terror measure, and then came the NatWest three, and now Dr. Fredrick Toben, detained in Heathrow to be extradited to Germany for views that are not even a crime in UK.

Anatoly, Moscow,

The people who are most likely to damage the UK are already here. Al Queada must be sitting in their caves or whatever, laughing like little Audrey at the self-created financial mess. It is far worse than anything they can do!

M. Cawdery, Portadown, Co UK, EU

Common Purpose pulling the policy strings again.

john, norwich,

Look out everyone, identity theft is going to get even bigger business!

Richard Galle, Stourport-on-Severn, UK

By the way, this scheme won't work without a national ID, and might be claimed as a rationale for the national ID .

Anatoly, Moscow,

Mike,
I don't think that the immigrants are the cause of such security measures. It is more like "controlling the masses" if you wish.
Really sad that the world is slowly going to something really bad and no one can't stop that from happening.

Andrey, Oxford, UK

The Labour Party are trying to do to Britain what the Stasi and the Nazis did to Germany.

Arfur Towcrate, Staffycher,

Oh dear. The Labour government's coffin is already so full of nails, there surely can't be any space remaining to hammer this final one in...

Doug Short, Edinburgh,

Are you sure you haven't reported the story the wrong way round: is it possible that you might simply need a mobile phone in order to get a passport?

Robert, Hull, UK

Get off my back O'Brien.

This has nothing to do with stopping crime (other than creating new criminals overnight).

This has nothing to do with stopping terrorism.

It has everything to do with putting fenceposts around us for when we all finally realise there is no oil, gas, or pension funds left.

Darios, Sheffield,

There is a huge market in secondhand phones. How would the government keep track of these - would every phone need a log book, like a car?

CeliaD, London, UK

Unregistered phones will have to prove their identity at the next Top Up. Tourists' ones will be scanned at passport control. Drivers' ones will be ID'd when their number plate is read. Shoppers' when they user their loyalty card. Finally, Telcos will not accept calls from unregistered phones.

quentin, reading, uk

Why doesn't the govt bring in legislation to make it impossible to buy food at a supermarket without presenting your passport?

Then all the liberarians would starve to death and we could have a nice, orderly, police state within a few weeks.

Ned Ludd, Norwich,

'But they are also used by thousands of law-abiding citizens who wish to communicate in private. '

What utter rubbish, David Leppard, as a low user I have a 'Pay as You Go' phone because it cheaper than a contract, not because I have something to hide or am a criminal!

Mark, Edinburgh,

I trashed my mobile and SIM card about a year ago. It was hard at first, something akin to an addiction, but no longer do I have to charge, carry or generally take care of it like a slobbering, occassionally vibrating, pet. I find people still manage to get in touch!!

Now that's freedom!!

Name withheld, Oxford, England

It would be easier just to deport the immigrants, especially if they have been to Pakistan or other training camps.
Britain did not have this problem until they let in all and sundry

Mike, Paphos, Cyprus

What is going on? The freedom-loving England of old is obviously something lost long ago, but this sounds rather nuts. Really, really nuts. As long as you don´t enforce this scheme on every country there is, it will be pointless - won´t give protection nor security. It will be "1984" all over again.

Johannes Tirén, Halmstad, Sweden

This would really be the final straw for me. I am sick and tired of living in a society that wants to monitor my every movement, every conversation and probably my thoughts as well. I will not be spied on. I have nothing to hide but will not lose my freedom. I will move abroad to a decent life.

Carrie Hartford, London, United Kingdom

""How will they deal with all of the unregistered pay as you go phones already in use. ""
Simple. When you run out of credit you will not be able to top up without I.D..
welcome to nanny state britain. ha ha ha
as with all the other pathetic rules in that country only the bad people will be immune

peter jones, moscow,

I have two Spanish mobile phones which I can use freely here in the UK, and you do not have to register any details there when you buy. So unless they make this an EU wide obligation then people will simply buy phones abroad and use them here to get around this.

Mike, Surrey,

No problem unless they hand out this list to marketing companies like they do with the electoral register!!!

John D, London, UK

Presumably, the fact that the State can track our movements from the signals given off by our mobiles can't possibly have crossed their minds. Pay-as-you-go motoring on the cheap, anyone? No wonder the State is keen to see holes in mobile coverage filled in.

John, Lifton, UK

There is a tenfold increase in supercomputing power every four years enabling voice and email traffic to be monitored and interpreted in real time. Encryption would be intrinsically suspicious, so there can be no privacy. What's it all for? Anti-terrorism? That's the propaganda, what's the truth?

Dwight Vandryver, Scholar Green, UK

How will they deal with all of the unregistered pay as you go phones already in use.

Alan, Fortaleza, Brazil

"Most of us have nothing to hide"

True, but we do have plenty to lose. Its called freedom, and we used to be quite keen on it.

Mark, Manchester,

What a great idea, I've just returned from Japan, and you can't even buy a phone there if your not a resident. The only people that need to worry are the criminals. The every day 'joe bloggs' it will have no worries, except you may now get your phone back if it's stolen and recovered by the Police.

Steve, Stevenage, UK

I note that all motor cars must be registered by their owners. Does that stop cars being used as getaway vehicles in robberies?

The UK Government needs, most sincerely, to take a lesson in reality from their wise predecessor: King Canute.

Best regards

Nigel Sedgwick, Beaconsfield, UK

The plan is due to be announced next year and to be follow suit by legislation, which is likely to take another few months. I doubt any of this will become substance. If one looks at the timing, it is quite likely Labour won't be in government by then...THANK GOD FOR THAT!

dominik, london,

As other people have pointed out, to buy a phone in France, Germany, or many other European countries, you already have to present a passport or ID card. What's the problem? It's just the norm here. A highly subjective piece of writing - or should I say scare-mongering.

Ellie, Rennes, France

The Communications Data Bill....in other words....'the end of your life as you know it'.....(apologies to REM).

James, Derby,

The crooks and terrorists will steal theirs, causing great problems for the original owners.

richard, london, uK

Only those who seek to mislead or who want to get caught will use mobiles, landlines or email, the rest will use postcards or other low-tech methods of communication. Only silly children believe computers will catch serious terrorists.

Roger Hart, Maidstone,

Don't worry everyone. Buy your phone in France, Belgium or Holland. Pay a £20 extra credit and use it in the UK. Your monthly phone costs will be about 15% cheaper than you pay now. If the EU becomes a problem use Norway, Croatia and best of all Turkey. All the above will send by courier.

Jonathan Mills, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

What about the 2 million mobile phones stolen every year in the UK? The terrorists will simply steal one and use it!

Mark, Coventry,

So do I have to register the old ones in the drawer, and what do I do about the mobiles I have bought and given away as presents? Or sent for recycling in aid of charities? Many change hands on the Freecycle website minus the sim card.
I suspect they mean the Sim card, not the phone.

Sue Doughty, Twyford, UK

And I suppose the government will 'accidentally' lose a few discs of our personal data and issue the usual 'I'm sorry' campaign. Is our data ever really lost, or just sold to the highest bidder?

Rose Byrne, London,

So what will 'they' do about face to face meetings ?
Oh -I forgot -there are zoomable cameras that are fitted with microphones now .Wonderful for the employment of the thousands needed to monitor the streets(and pubs)

jennifer, derby, uk

errr... forgive me for thinking of small details but its not the phone that mattetrs, its the SIM card? I know both the phone and the SIM can yield all sorts of information normal users are unaware of but it is a very simple matter to swap sims and phones. International travellers do it all the time

fred, Cambridge,

Fantastic idea. Better still, fingerprints should also be taken. Criminals will use false ID to get round the new legislation so the more we can do to slowdown or halt their movements the better. Most of us have nothing to hide and plenty to fear in terms of terrorism and everyday criminal behaviour

Pam, YORK,

Frighteningly stupid. Even if some idiot manages not to leave the entire database with all our details on a CD/Memory stick on the 5:17 from Waterloo do the Home Office not think that suicide bombers wont care about this - not much use being able to identify them after the crime!!

Andrew Deveney, Falkenham, Suffolk, UK

And you trust this government ???
What an appalling shower, and read this GCHQ - which I have no doubt you will - so I'll be expecting a little vist for a little 'chat' about my subversive comments and views!!

Ligger, Aberdeen,

So what happens if you want to buy a mobile phone as a gift for somebody else? Do you need to provide your own passport, or theirs?

Steve, Cardiff, UK

Last summer, we visited Russia and were amazed to discover that one has to be resident there to get a mobile phone.

I see that the UK is catching up fast. A fat lot of good it will do as the people who you are trying to catch will be several steps ahead and the rest of the population will suffer.

Alfred, Portsmouth, UK

The goverment know that these measures will not get them a single terrorist but it will give them the ability to monitor every person in britian it will also give them the ability to make any person who does not co operate with the goverment a very hard time !

richard, Chester, U.k.

whats next? opening and photocopying every piece of mail sent and recieved in britain? a huge national filing cabinet of all those letters? or do they think that people might actually notice that infringement just a bit?
this country invented freedom and now we are saying, what? no thanks?

will, grimsby, uk

If a criminal want to get around this , he will. This database scheme is an absolute waste of money. It sounds to me that GCHQ is simply trying to justify its current existence

malcolm, ely,

Well the high street will be an interesting place, after all its only got banks and mobile phone shops, so we best start boarding up the shops because I cant see many mobile phone companies surviving this red tape to much. Maybe its just a ploy to nationalise the mobile companies...

Adam Kent, Solihull, UK

A futile law. But a move nearer to having everyone chipped and pinned. And they aren't going to stop until they've done just that, this is just the beginning, wait and see. And to all those 'I haven't anything to hide' idiots....see how you feel when every breath you take is being recorded.

Alan, Swindon,

Everyone keeps bringing up 1984 but we are way past that. What happens when we are taped inside our homes? I hate how Britain gets more repressive by the week and no-one seems to care or be doing anything. And they don't even keep our data safe.

Cate, Leeds,

Might as well do away with hard currency too so the goverment can see what everyone buys on their credit and debit cards too. Then theres that rectal gps implant that could be handy for tracking these misceant/terrorist lot.

Dave, RI, USA

Wizard, Biggles! That'll trip up all those international terrorists and master criminals. Just don't anyone tell them that they can also get mobile phones by pinching them, picking them up at boot fares, getting them off of ebay, or buying them while on foreign holidays.

Nick, Hong Kong,

Ahaha, and you criticize China for being surveillance state by breach of privacy?!

The UK govt got the biggest CCTV network, internet and mobile phone calls are to be recorded, and they still want more?!

How can they expect people to trust them after all the data losses?

Chris, Cambridge,

They will be able to pinpoint your location 24/7.How scary is that.

mr max buckley, oldham, lanc's

Don't these stupid people watch Films?

The baddies always use phone booths!!!!!

Which is what I will do, if this stupid thing is brought in. I demand that the drivel I utter on said Mobile phones, be private.

What next? the TV in the corner, always on, and monitoring us, 24/7? Pathetic & useless

Carrie, London,

LOL. perhaps the Uk should start with having to show ID to book a hotel room; like the rest of the world, which is then made available to local police. of course only costs a few £ and is effective. No mobile phones better - costs billions and is ineffective. ebay anyone??

manav, London, UK

These people are mad! its like curing a verruca using chemotherapy I have nothing to hide but on principle I wont do it,2nd hand phones it will be.

Mitch, Wolverhampton, England

It won't work.

Why must we all be treated like terrorists?

Annie , Bath, UK

What next? Electronic voting, all stored on a government database? Just for reasons of national security? Of course. Law-abiding citizens will have nothing to fear.

The Stasi would be proud of New Labour.

Mark Elton, Leeds,

I only buy second hand mobile phones but if they want my details from my provider, according to the data protection act then need my permission. If all else fails i'll get rid of the phone.

I'll do what ever it takes to maintain my privacy and won't be on any such database.

mike smith, norwich, uk

The Madrid bombers used Mobile phones they also used ruck sacks, wires, batteries. So now we have to prove who we are while just shopping.

Andrew Evans, Llanelli, UK

I bought a €20 phone in Spain where I live, I had to show my passport, nie (tax) certificate and Residentia papers. Because I remembered how the Madrid bombings were orchestrated I didn't mind. But we don't have cctv cameras on every street corner and feel very much freer.

Mich, Torre Pacheco, Spain

Well, as someone with a tri-band phone that I normally use overseas, it was all too easy for me to buy a SIM card to provide local service while I was in the UK recently.

Maybe it's the sale of pre-paid SIM cards that needs closer scrutiny?

Tina, Vancouver, Canada

It already happens in many EU and other European countries. No law abiding person is complaining there. What have you got to hide (or complain about) if you're not doing anything wrong?

Kelly, London,

Just as well i don't use one then. My passport is used to travel and nothing else, they can shove it.
When is someone going to stop this abuse, because that's what it is to me?
Where is opposition, we don't appear to have one otherwise this evil govt would have been removed long ago?

Zordana, Bucks,

So the terries will use second hand phones instead. This is just one more small step on the way to eroding all rights that we have left.

David Sumpton, exeter, UK

When my current mobile(hardly used) goes faulty I won't replace it. I bet all the Labour supporters are just loving their party. It wont be long before our liberties are worse than in Stalinist Russia. Dr I Burgess, Bristol, is absolutely correct - don't buy a phone and this scheme will collapse.

Marcus, London, England

You can buy pre-paid phones in Europe but you have to identify yourself. Seems logical to me.

Frederick, London, UK

Sounds sensible to me.

matt, Bristol, United Kingdom

Well it didn't happen by 1984, but Orwell wasn't far off by the looks of it.
These threats are being used as a pretense to take away all our hard won liberties and we're taking it lying down.

Phil, Welwyn, UK

Total paranoia and scaremongering. All those thinking of voting Flash Gordon's Labour Party - please think again. Our civil liberties are in danger.

Dr I Burgess, Bristol,

Similar measures have been introduced in Spain as a consequence of the Madrid train bombings (which were triggered by mobile phones). What's the problem - unless you (sadly) think the government's out to get you?

Bert Dove, Santa Pola, Spain (sadly)

Pointless exercise - easily circumvented. Such procedures will simply be a nuisance to everybody and are clearly only further attempts to increase the level of surveillance and control by an increasingly tyrannical, authoritarian and un-democratic government.

Howard, London, UK

That's it - no more mobile phone for me. If we all gave them up there'd be such an outcry that this nonsense would be shelved.

Dr I Burgess, Bristol,

So they'll just steal more mobiles and laptops.

Owen, Penryn, UK

Unfortunately, politicians are hopelessly inept at getting public support. EU Constitution/Lisbon Treaty: has come to nothing. Wielding climate change against business: has come to very little indeed. Increased spying will be used to make propaganda more effective; it won't work.

Neil, Norwich, UK

This is becoming nonsense. The security services have now become the equivalent of loose cannons. If I go into a hospital for the removal of my foreskin no doubt that will be recorded on the database.

Fred, Hong Kong,

And mobile phones from overseas?

The real terrorists will find a way around all these kind of measures. The real use of the database will be tax avoidance, benefit fraud and anti-government sentiment.

J Jenkins, York,