CABINET ministers are accusing David Blunkett, the home secretary, of attempting to sneak through compulsory identity cards after they blocked the scheme, leaked cabinet papers reveal.

The home secretary’s plans are being attacked by colleagues just as anti-terrorist measures are back at the top of the agenda after the Madrid bombings and public support is growing for ID cards.

In a concerted campaign, four senior ministers — Jack Straw, Alistair Darling, Paul Boateng and Patricia Hewitt — have written letters protesting against the move by Blunkett, who is due to publish a draft ID cards bill before Easter.

They are furious that the home secretary has inserted a clause that would grant the power to introduce compulsory cards with a single vote in the Commons and without another act of parliament being passed.

Straw protests that Blunkett’s move is not “in line with what colleagues earlier agreed” when they agreed to shelve compulsory cards for 10 years. Darling, the transport secretary and an ally of the chancellor, complains that “there is a widespread feeling that a change of this significance and sensitivity will need a far fuller debate”.

And Paul Boateng, Gordon Brown’s deputy at the Treasury writes: “I remain concerned about compulsion — an issue that cuts to the core of the political and public acceptability of the scheme.”

Tony Blair, who has said that he is keen on compulsory ID cards “in principle”, is backing Blunkett, although he is urging him to find a new compromise with Brown’s allies.

Public support for ID cards has increased since the bombings in Madrid, according to a poll for The Sunday Times today. The Experian survey shows that more than 86% of people would be prepared to carry an ID card, with the overwhelming majority believing that it would help to fight crime and terrorism.

In October the cabinet agreed to shelve plans for compulsory cards for at least a decade, despite Blunkett’s argument that they were the key to combating terrorism and illegal immigration. With Blair’s backing, Blunkett won agreement to publish a consultation document — in the form of a draft bill — on a possible voluntary scheme to be introduced alongside a new generation of passports that will carry fingerprints or iris scans.

The documents show how alarmed colleagues were when they saw the bill earlier this month because it contained a clause that would allow the government to move quickly to compulsory ID cards on a single vote in the Commons. Most MPs, like the public, are in favour of ID cards and the bill would easily get passed in a climate of fear about terrorism.

The home secretary has allowed colleagues to read his draft bill, but only under the tightest security for fear of leaks. The Sunday Times first disclosed Blunkett’s plans for compulsory cards costing £40 each, and the cabinet row that ensued, in a series of highly damaging leaks last year.

Blair was forced to intervene after Brown’s allies were joined by Straw in condemning the plan as too controversial. A compromise was agreed that Blunkett could draw up a consultation paper and draft bill, but it was seen as kicking the plan into the long grass.

The letters from cabinet opponents of the scheme reopen the row which, like the euro debate, is becoming the key area of controversy in cabinet and where new alliances are being formed.

They were sent to John Prescott, the deputy prime minister, in his capacity as chairman of the cabinet’s domestic affairs sub-committee.

Straw’s and Hewitt’s letters, both dated the week before last, point out that the bill goes much further than agreed by the cabinet. The foreign secretary refers to “the need to ensure that the draft bill is in line with what colleagues earlier agreed . . . a bill of this kind would be seen to be focused on the introduction of a compulsory ID scheme”.

Straw adds: “I should like to emphasise that the ID card scheme must be designed in a way that is compatible with our obligations under international law, in particular EU law.”

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