I WAS pleased to help organise the well attended, Whose Identity Is It anyway? meeting at the Pilgrim Centre.

Members of the public heard arguments both for and against the compulsory registration of British citizens, and enrolment on to the National Identity Register.

Finding supporters of the National Identity Register who will publicly support the scheme is difficult at the best of times, even more so now as the Government seems to be lurching from one Home Office crisis to another. (The Home Office is overseeing the creation of the NIR and issuing of Identity Cards.) How refreshing then, that North Swindon MP Michael Wills agreed to join our panel of speakers.

He put up a defence of a scheme which is widely regarded as morally and financially indefensible.

The panel consisted of eight speakers, seven who were opposed to the scheme, with only Michael Wills supporting it.

Only the Labour Party now supports the scheme. All other political parties oppose it, so it was never going to be an easy meeting to promote as a politically balanced event.

Almost all who asked questions or gave their own views were opposed to the scheme.

I thought Labour Coun Bob Wright might support Michael Wills when he took the microphone, but, after telling fellow audience members that he hadn't heard a debate, but one-way traffic, he admitted he doesn't support the ID scheme.

My opposition to identity cards has been hardened by the realisation that so many people who considered themselves lifetime Labour voters are so opposed to the scheme they will not vote Labour at the next election.

Members of the audience listened and formed their own opinions. When the chairman invited comments they overwhelmingly delivered an unambiguous "NO!" to ID and the database state.

G REID.

Swindon NO2ID