IT now appears likely that each and every one of us is going to be issued with identity cards and, judging by public opinion, the Government has the support of the majority of the population on this issue.

The card will be of the "smart card-credit card" type containing the holder's biometric and other personal information, enabling the authorities to identify the individual on the street in a relatively short period of time, should they wish to do so.

The card would be a rather inconvenient nuisance to most of us as the individual would be required, by law (on pain of a very hefty fine), to carry the card on their person at all times. This technology is already out of date.

Perhaps a more technically advanced, less cumbersome, cheaper and easier method of national identification could be used instead. We already electronically tag certain criminals so we know if they breach curfew conditions. We implant microchips into our pets, making it easier to find and identify them should they go missing.

We could all have a microchip implanted into our bodies with its own unique code, rather like the bar code on the side of a can of beans on a supermarket shelf. There would be no need to have to keep remembering to take our ID cards with us. No more queues at passport control at the airport, we would all simply walk under a scanner, like the bar code scanners we see in supermarkets. The police would carry similar scanners, which would enable them to identify people instantly by just passing the scanner over the individual concerned.

Imagine, by using satellite tracking technology, the authorities would know the exact whereabouts of all asylum seekers, illegal immigrants, terrorists and criminals (as well as the rest of us) at any specific time because these people also would be implanted with the microchip, just like the rest of us, right?

It would be a relatively simple matter for the authorities and the police to round up anyone they wish at will. Which would be good for us all, wouldn't it?

Stuart A Chapman

Patterdale Road

Harwood