Westminster’s controversial plans for UK-wide identity cards are in doubt after Scottish ministers denounced the plans as "unacceptable".
Fergus Ewing, the community safety minister, wrote in a strongly-worded letter to the Home Office that the Scottish Government remained "completely opposed" to the scheme.
In his letter to junior Home Office minister Meg Hillier, Mr Ewing said that the scheme presents an “unacceptable threat to citizens' privacy and civil liberties” with “little tangible evidence to suggest it will do anything to safeguard against crime and terrorism".
Mr Ewing's letter was the Scottish Government's formal response to a consultation exercise on proposed rules relating to the scheme. These set out regulations and a code of practice that has to be in place before the first ID cards can be issued under the Identity Cards Act later this year.
Mr Ewing said on Sunday that the overall costs of the scheme could be £4.8 billion UK-wide, rising to £5.11 billion if costs associated with foreign nationals were included.
"This money could and should be used to pay for much more worthy causes like more teachers, nurses or police officers or more schools and hospitals," he said.
"All citizens, including Scots, will be expected to fork out for a card and to enrol on the national identity register when this becomes compulsory in 2012.
Mr Ewing said that citizens would also have to pay to enrol their biometric data, fingerprints and facial image, with "real concerns" at the potential for fraud.
He added: "The initial application fee has been fixed at £30 and that is supposedly a cut-price offer to entice citizens to get one before they become compulsory.
“How much they will cost from 2012 is anyone's guess."
Last updated: 15 February 2009, 13:42
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