Labour will make holding an identity card compulsory for all after 2010 if it wins the next general election, the Home Secretary has confirmed.

Until then, people who opt out of identity cards will still pay for the controversial scheme - and face having their fingerprint and facial details logged on a national database.

The controversial legislation, which has been branded an erosion of civil liberties by opponents, gained Royal Assent today after the House of Lords - which had voted against the legislation five times - finally agreed with a compromise deal proposed by the Home Office last night.

Under the deal, people will be allowed to "opt out" of the scheme until 2010 - but Charles Clarke has already branded anyone who exercises that right as "foolish".

He revealed today that anyone applying for a passport will have to pay the same higher price, expected to be around £93, irrespective of whether they wish to be issued with an identity card or not.

The value of the opt-out was further questioned, when it emerged that the government has kept the right to begin collecting 'biometric' information straight away. This means fingerprints, as well as eye and face scans, can be put on the National Identity Register as soon as it starts in late 2008.

It is thought that the Tories decided to agree to the compromise deal in the belief that ID cards will become a key battleground for them in the next general election.

Charles Clarke said: "I do not expect there to be a differential in price, whether you opt out or not. I don’t think there is any benefit in opting out at all. Anyone who opts out, in my opinion, is foolish. "

Minister have said that each ID card will cost £93 to make but the only firm figure issued by the Home Office is £30 for a "stand alone" card issued without a full passport.

Andy Burnham, a Home Office minister, has announced that a new agency will be set up to develop and issue identity cards.

The Identity and Passport Service will become operational from Saturday and will incorporate the existing UK Passport Service, he said.

Cards will start to be issued in late 2008 or early 2009, with people having to go through the process of supplying their fingerprints, plus scans of their eyes and face, even if they don't wish to possess a card. These so-called biometrics will be held on a new National Identity Register, enabling cards to be cross checked against a central database.

Before the full ID card scheme comes into force, foreign nationals will be issued with biometric residence permits from 2008.

Until yesterday, when Conservative peers fell into line with a Home Office compromise deal to allow people to continue to opt out of holding a card until 2010, the Tories opposed the scheme.

They have vowed to make identity cards a major issue at the next general election, arguing that by the time the country goes to the polls, probably in 2009, the public will be in uproar about being forced to pay an extra £30 for a card they do not want. They will scrap the scheme if they win the election.

David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: "When people are told they will have to pay for an ID card whether or not they opt to have one, this will make them even more resentful of this system.

"Under a Conservative Government, the scheme would be scrapped and the savings put to other uses - including strengthening our security."

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: "Within hours of parading their so-called compromise the Home Office is already making it clear that it was little more than a tactical manoeuvre to ram this legislation through Parliament without any substantive change to the Draconian reach and financial costs of the ID database.

"It begs the question whether the Conservatives really knew what they were doing when they fell into line with Charles Clarke’s ruse."

Rosemary Bennett, Times deputy political editor, said: "The opposition parties did not ask enough questions about the costs. How many members of the public will be prepared to take that opt out?

"Really, the other parties should have been pressing on this. Charles Clarke has now said it would be foolish not to get an ID card."

She added: "The Tories have promised to make this a big general election issue. They have promised to scrap the cards and they think this can be Labour's poll tax. But the bill has passed now, there is no going back."

• Other measures which became law today include the Terrorism Act, which also saw a clash between Commons and Lords over creation of a “glorification” offence; the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act, paving the way for the 2012 London games; and the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act, introducing a points system for migrants to Britain.
  

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