• Design chosen to reflect rights of non-UK nationals Alan Johnson reveals the design of the British national identity card. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA The union flag has been left off the final design for the British national identity card unveiled today in order to respect the "identity rights'' of Irish nationals living in Northern Ireland. The Home Office has deliberately avoided the use of flags, including that of the European Union, which features on British driving licences, on the new ID card in an effort to reflect all the nations of the United Kingdom. Instead the card is to contain the royal coat of arms and "a floral pattern representing the four floral emblems of the UK: the shamrock, daffodil, thistle and rose". A Home Office spokesman explained that this design reflected "themes of Britishness and aspects of UK history". But critics said the decision only served to underline how the ID card scheme forced people to choose between the multiple identities that make up modern Britain. The card, unveiled by the home secretary, Alan Johnson, includes a photograph, name, date of birth, birthplace, nationality and signature on its face. The Home Office says it will contain "similar information" to that currently included in a passport, as well as a photograph and fingerprints encoded on a secure electronic chip to link the owner to their biometric identity. Irish citizens living in Northern Ireland will be invited to register on the British national identity card database but this will not preclude them from applying for an Irish passport. They will be issued with an "identification card" – a different version of the British citizen's card which will not record an individual's nationality and so cannot be used as travel document around Europe. An impact assessment of the next phase of the ID card scheme slipped out without publicity in May said the design "recognised fully the identity rights of the people of Northern Ireland as laid out in the Belfast agreement. We are seeking to design the national identity service so that it is open to everyone who has the right to live in the United Kingdom – whether they are British, Irish or a national from another country." The official assessment says: "While some symbols have been included within the card's design to indicate that the document has been issued by the UK government, we have sought to design features which can reflect all parts of the United Kingdom, such as the inclusion of the shamrock, to represent Ireland within the tactile feature, and we have sought to avoid symbols such as flags." The Home Office has also made efforts to take into consideration cultural differences in Wales. It will be possible to apply in Welsh, but for space reasons there will be no bilingual version of the first wave of cards. Work continues on how the design of the card can accommodate additional text in Welsh and still meet international standards for the design of travel documents. Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said ID cards had been unpopular for so long that few remembered their genesis. "They were part of a clumsy cohesion agenda to unite us around flags rather than values. They were to fight the multiple identities that make up modern Britain by forcing us to choose between the various ties that bind us. Ironically, in forgetting the very 'un-Britishness' of ID cards, the government has united the country against them."No room for union flag as Alan Johnson unveils the British identity card
• Welsh language version ruled out for lack of space
Friday, 31 July 2009
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