ID card claim difficult to believe - Clegg

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 9th Oct 2006

the national identity card scheme will cost £5.4 billion to set up and run over the next 10 years

Commenting on the Home Office's announcement that the national identity card scheme will cost £5.4 billion to set up and run over the next 10 years, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Clegg MP said "It is difficult to believe anything the Government says about the cost of ID cards given that in the past they have either tried to hide the costs or spectacularly underestimated them.

"Given the Government's abysmal record on IT projects, such as the massive cost overruns on the NHS computer system, the public has every right to maintain a healthy scepticism about this figure.

"Identity cards will be expensive and unworkable."