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Her comments came after Blair told the party conference 12 days ago: “In a world of mass migration, with cheaper air travel and all the problems of fraud, it makes sense to ask whether now, in the early 21st century, identity cards are no longer an affront to civil liberties but may be a way of protecting them.”

Even as Blair made his speech, he would have been aware of the battle in cabinet. The week before, the Straw and Treasury letters were circulated in cabinet and Downing Street within 24 hours of each other.

In his letter to Blunkett, dated September 24 and copied to Blair, Straw says: “I believe the proposed plan is flawed and no tinkering with particular issues will be able to resolve what is a fundamental political matter.

“We remain as far apart as ever on the acceptability of charging. How will we get people to accept a fee system when asylum seekers get the card free? “What about the practicality of ensuring every citizen provides a biometric (such as an iris photograph or fingerprint) sample while no effective procedures are in place for those who refuse? “The potential for a large-scale debacle which harms the government is great, and any further decisions on the next steps must be made collectively. I will continue to urge strongly that this issue be shelved.”

In the letter, marked “confidential”, Straw reveals that his department has begun its own study of ID cards in other countries and he goes on to raise numerous potential “pitfalls”, including:

• The likely loss of £33m from the Foreign Office in passport fees as people use their ID card instead to travel to the EU;
• Potential loopholes for illegal economic migrants to “exploit”;
• The extra costs of having to include biometric data on passports and visas as well as ID cards;
• “Unnecessary spats” with the European courts because of difficulties of making them compatible with other countries;
• The need for the Irish government to introduce an ID card because of cross-border travel and the 1m Irish who live in Britain;
• Special arrangements to preserve the rights to services and benefits of the 15 million British citizens living overseas.

  The following day Paul Boateng, the chief secretary to the Treasury, also wrote to Blunkett, stating: “There may well be alternative options that would provide us with a series of quick wins with much lower risks and costs.”

  Apparently conscious that Blair would be reluctant to introduce new tax rises, the minister shrewdly adds: “It is worth nothing that under a fully compulsory option, the charge for the card may be classified as a tax by the Office for National Statistics.”

  Boateng concludes: “While I strongly welcome the progress we have made since DA (the cabinet’s domestic affairs committee) first discussed ID cards before the summer, the practical points raised by cabinet are substantial, though not insurmountable.”

  Many other countries have ID cards, including 11 out of the 15 European Union member states. Blunkett floated the idea after September 11 as a means of combating terrorism, then launched a public consultation exercise which showed strong support.

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