ID card rollout begins

[Roland Perry]

In article <48DB79ED.1070205@pelicancrossing.net>, Wendy M. Grossman 
<wendyg@pelicancrossing.net> writes
>>> I think that it is stronger than that: the intention is that non-EEA 
>>>nationals resident here for more than 3 months (or perhaps 6) will 
>>>have to carry it at all times, but for now I expect they will have to 
>>>produce it within a reasonable time if asked to.
>>  How will the police know that the person is a non-EEA national, if 
>>he is  not carrying his card?

I don't currently accept that the police can demand to see these ID
cards, especially as I don't see a mechanism for them to be even 
remotely compulsory in the foreseeable future (ie at least the ten-year 
life of existing passports-with-visas-in).

>This is likely to be a discriminatory part of it, since the most 
>obvious way police will do it is guess based on accent, appearance, 
>etc. As it happens, I'm American but have an Irish passport - so I'm an 
>EEA national but certainly don't sound (or probably dress) like one.

It's worse than that, because even someone with a Texan accent wearing a 
ten-gallon hat could be a nationalised UK citizen. (The reverse is also 
true, a british-speaking public school boy could also be an American 
citizen by birth).
-- 
Roland Perry