A good day to bury bad news - Labour attempts to bury spiralling cost of ID cards

BBC News:

ID card cost rises above £5bn

The official cost of the ID card scheme has risen by £400m to £5.31bn, the Home Office says.

The figure was released as Tony Blair announced his departure, leading to claims from the opposition that the government was "burying bad news".

The Tories also say that the actual rise in costs, when expressed in 2007/08 prices, is £640m.

The Home Office say that figure is 'concocted' and the increase was due to staff and anti-fraud expenditure.

Amid the row about the actual rise in the cost of the scheme, the Tories and Lib Dems also say that the Home Office broke the law by releasing the updated costings a month later than they should have.

Under the Identity Card Act, the government must give an update on the costs of the scheme twice a year. The latest update was due on 9 April.

Hopefully the fiasco of UK identity cards will deter attempts to introduce them in Ireland.