So, the Bill on ID cards gets through the House of Commons - albeit with the government's majority cut in half. It won't fare so well in the Lords (where promises of future peerages don't cut much ice). But let's remember, what the Bill proposes is not an Identity Card scheme. It's an Identity Database scheme. As long as the government has centralized records on all of us, who cares about cards?

Some people argue that we all carry identity, and lots of people have info on us: that if MI5 really wanted to know all about us, they could. Well, if the security forces can check us out so easily, why do we need a new, centralized database? That simply enables petty officials to check us out too. And they are open to corruption: leaving us open to blackmail - and identity theft, on an even bigger scale.

The Bill won't stop benefit fraud (only 5% of which involves identity fraud), nor terrorism (Madrid was bombed despite national IDs), nor illegal immigration (each year 26m people enter the UK for short visits which will not require an ID card).

The government say that only basic information will be kept on people's records. But they're leaving a few fields empty just in case they think of things to add in the future. And who will decide that? Some official, or Parliament?

Nor will it be compulsory to carry an ID card, they say. Oh yeah? How long will that idea last? It's because I know how governments work that I am donating £10 to the fighting fund being set up by No2ID. You should too.