10,000 register for ID cards

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Thousands of UK citizens are looking into getting an ID card, according to figures released by the government this week.

The Home Office confirmed to IT PRO that 10,000 people in the UK have expressed interest through the DirectGov website.

However, the chief executive of the Identity and Passport Service, James Hall, said the numbers were a positive sign. "The level of interest in identity cards shows there is a real demand for a safe and convenient way for people to prove their identity,” he said in a statement.

"The launch of identity cards in Greater Manchester and the consumer awareness campaign that will be launched with it will raise the profile of the scheme further.”

The scheme Hall mentions in Manchester has only managed to find 2,000 volunteers in a city of almost half a million, according to figures from the Manchester Evening News.

The ID card scheme has been surrounded by controversy since its inception. So far only foreign nationals have had to have the cards and Gordon Brown recently backed down in his conference speech saying the cards would not become mandatory.

Other political parties have gone further, saying if they won power in the next general election, they would scrap the scheme entirely.

Click here for all you need to know about ID cards.

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