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Thank you very much for your letter and for letting me know your concern over the
introduction of identity cards.
Although I come from what you might describe as a liberal tradition and am uncomfortable
with the idea of being asked to justify myself when I am not doing anything untoward, I
feel unfortunately that the time has now come for ID cards. We live in a different and
ever changing world where people can live very rootless and anonymous lives without the
same contact with and responsibility to their neighbours or community as before. This brings problems
of its own, many of which I am in politics to try and address, but it also leaves us
vulnerable to many dangers from identity fraud through to international terrorism. I do not
pretend that ID cards are the entire solution but I believe they may help in addressing
some of these concerns. I certainly do not believe the Government is introducing ID cards
as a form of control.
I am sorry if you find my response disappointing but thank you again for writing to me.
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