There is something truly disquieting in the lack of debate about the nature and intent of the National Identity Register.

Speaking broadly to friends and family it is obvious that the public at large is simply not aware of even the basics of this scheme, believing that it involves nothing more sinister than a piece of plastic showing their details.

This is no small matter and it does not require the greatest cynicism to sense the gift to Government in allowing a populace who, properly informed, would undoubtedly revolt in the majority, to continue in ignorance.

There can be no explanation for the existence of the NIR save that it serves as a means to record in ever-increasing detail, the activities of the entire population - and it is no coincidence that its inception comes at a time when technology is proving it can not only support such mass (multi-media) data storage, but progressively bring the cost down to near zero per capita.

I can tell you that I have exchanged with many parties in Government and have yet to find one who can justify the NIR additional to what most believe the Identity scheme to involve, simply a card.

With classic craft, the (spurious) arguments feast on fear, in this case the threat of terrorism and the protection of our borders - create enough anxiety and reason runs for the protections of the maternal skirt.

No, when the veils of seductive claim fall away, as underwrites all Government initiatives, this will prove to be an exercise in the naked interests of the public purse.

You don't have to be a mind reader when you have a mind. Beware - it is the ultimate instrument of punitive taxation and involves the ultimate invasion of privacy. I am as honest (or would my administrators say dishonest? And there's the rub!) as the next person - so must I be watched around the clock?

It is a damning scenario but we need to act against our own Government to avoid a (near) future where comprehensive surveillance will in practice rob everyone of intimate privacy, irrespective of the aim of legal rights. There will be no satisfaction for anyone in saying after the event "I told you so" because this evolution will never turn back.

There is a public meeting called "Whose identity is it anyway" arranged by the local NO2ID group, on Tuesday, February 13 at the town centre Swindon Pilgrim Centre.

I urge everybody to attend.

D Payne.

Swindon