People like me will vote Conservative purely to kill off ID cards, I doubt anyone wants them enough to make them vote Labour if they weren't going to anyway. Figure it out, Gordon.

Jamie, Gtr Manchester, UK

Great money-saving scheme for the government.
SCRAP IT NOW

MikeM, St. Albans, England

Government says ID cards will be issued to foreign citizens. Do they seriously expect that every foreigner arriving at ports and airports will be issued with a card? Heathrow will need a new terminal just to process those passengers. It's complete nonsense. Half-baked ideas with huge costs - again.

Chris King, Fleet, UK

What!!! No Soviet or ex east European companies been bidding? Surely one was spun of the ex police state system. That's where I'd look for expertise like this.
Not doing so underlines the myopic stance of this gov't.

If you're going to do something, do it right.

Tractor factory Stasi one and all.

Tom Taylor-Duxbury, Ludlow, UK

"With a false match rate of 1 in 100,000, everyone on the register will match with prints at 9 crime scenes - Insane!"

I think your maths are a bit askew there.

But consider this, if you have committed a crime will you get a card? Remember this card is going to be voluntary

Richard Evans, WGC, Herts

I am a conservative voter. I also want ID cards. This is not incompatible with my beliefs, simply my own (independant) logic. I have carried an ID all my working life (overseas and in HM Forces), I have nothing to fear. Lets not dump this idea because its Mr Gordon Bean's; its a good idea.

David L, Brussels,

One of the reasons that Brown lost my confidence early on is that he promised to change the way Labour approached issues but failed to do so in some crucial areas such as not scrapping the ID card scheme, one of many initiatives which will suffocate British liberties. I voted Labour before, not now

Jon Underwood, Edinburgh, EH3 9JR

These bidders should all consider this. I am a law-abiding uk citizen from a middle class background and nothing - nothing - will make me hand over my dna , and that of my children, to state ownership. Nothing. So stop wasting your money up the wall. And I am not an extremist of any sort.

batman, norwich,

Save the hard pressed taxpayer some money.
Dump this flawe scheme right now and use any residual cash to police our borders, get the work-shy off benefits, and eject immigrants en-masse.

Cap, Lincoln,

"The credibility of the Government's tendering process for its £2 billion biometric identity card scheme was cast into doubt..."

...along with everything else to do with it.

Tom Welsh, Basingstoke,

Do NOT believe their lies.... UK passports already meet all international standards. And when Ireland changed theirs, it cost them just £4 million, NOT the billions that the UK Government has been wasting on this silly scheme. The passport thing is just an excuse.

John Pickworth, Blackpool, UK

A National ID Card Fiasco it will be named after some youngster discovers how to clone a card. The current system is only as safe as the people who need to verify them. It is the verification not the ID Card that will be a problem. Get a "perfect" verification system in place and Bob's your uncle.

Simon, Bath, UK

They will fail miserably and deliver a crushing blow to McLabour.

They cannot succeed when the only people willing to take them up, are McLabour voters in England (the Scottish and Welsh governments have already said they will not be needed in those countries and yet Gordon Brown is a Scotch MP).

Helen Wright, Cumbria, England

The whole ID card system has been nothing but a gigantic 'money-making scam'. Is it any wonder that such big companies have bidded for the contracts - where they would expect to recieve 'millions of pounds of taxpayers' money? Its what they stand to make in profits which is their only interest.

Steve, Bournemouth, England

Gordon Brown should call an election now and proclaim NuLabour's achievements.... the right to roam, the minimum wage err.. foxhunting err... err...

Kevin, Leeds,

Start your fight back here Gordon and bin this nonsense now.

Kevin, Leeds,

Quote:

>> However, the Government argued that the contracts would still be needed despite the Tories' plans, as &#8220;80 per cent of the scheme will be about bringing the UK passport up to international standards&#8221;.<<

What are they talking about? ICAO stanrds do NOT require fingerprints.

Charlie, Isle of Man,

The shortlist comprises the "usual suspects" When will they learn that spending man-years and millions of pounds on providing proposals for stupid ideas is equally stupid?

Bill Peter, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Because of this hideous legislation I will be voting Conservative for the first time in my life. And I have been voting for a long time ............

Mary, London,

I don't understand why anyone is bidding. The Tories will be elected by 2010 at the latest and they have already promised to knock the whole fiasco on the head. Where will that leave the bidders?

Absolute madness. Any CEO who puts in a bid should be sacked immediately!

Edwin, Bucharest,

This government has already wasted millions of pounds on the ID card project. The only fridge benefit, that is a British contractor benefiting from the scheme, is now ruled out.

Its time to kick this conceited government out, along with their expensive follies.

A Hariis, Ketteing, UK

In 2007, Blair stated "They will be able, for example, to compare the fingerprints found at the scene of some 900,000 unsolved crimes against the information held on the register."

With a false match rate of 1 in 100,000, everyone on the register will match with prints at 9 crime scenes - Insane!

Brian Drury, London Colney, England

Vote conservative if you want to kill of this sorry piece of legislation. It doesn't mean one has to believe that the Tories are any better.

Daniel Woodley, London, UK