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Identity Cards Bill

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Gould, is wonderfully provocative. He did not refer to these Report stage amendments, rather he made a good Second Reading speech. I am not going to rise to the bait, but I am blowed if I know which of the amendments he was speaking to. The noble Baroness who has just spoken made some eminently commonsense points. To insert the word ““reasonably””, as proposed in Amendment No. 56A, is entirely sensible, while to insert the word proposed in Amendment No. 59E, so that reference is made to ““essential”” in Clause 12(3) is again absolute common sense. This is not a case of the paranoia of the state, but of producing sensible legislation that achieves its purpose. I wholly support the amendments.