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Identity Cards Bill

My noble friend’s amendment intrigues me because it takes me back to nationality Acts. The business of defining people is strange. I believe that under the law you can be a British citizen but not a British national. I am not sure of all the ingredients. First, we should begin to determine how many British nationals there are. Members of the Committee will remember that only a few moments ago I reminded them that 80 per cent of the British population have passports. But your Lordships will be intrigued to know that the most recent information I have from the Home Office is that 13 million British subjects are living abroad. I think that if we asked each other how many British subjects lived abroad the figure would probably be between 1 million and 3 million. But when one takes into account that at the general election 19 million people did not vote and that 13 million British subjects are living abroad, we can possibly suggest that the majority of British nationals have not been sufficiently consulted through the parliamentary process. I like the idea of replacing the word ““National”” with ““British”” because that is what we are talking about—protecting British nationals and giving them the right to prove who they are wherever they may be. I explained earlier that I have difficulty in proving who I am, and therefore I have issued my own identity cards. They are in a plasticised envelope so that they may not be worn out or damaged when I swim. I have a photocopy of the coloured page of my passport and of my signature. I have a colour copy of my driving licence and, believe it or not, I have a colour copy of my House of Lords pass. Some time ago, I asked the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, whether the House of Lords pass was proof of identity. He said that it was not as it was not an official document. Yet the noble Lord opposite will see that the pass—he is wearing it round his neck with pride—states: ““This pass is an official document””. If it is an official document and is not proof of identity when an official document held by a member of the Armed Forces or the police is proof of identity, then what is it and why are we required to wear it around our necks? The only real proof of identity in life is recognition.