Clarke: ID Cards Will Not Prevent Terrorism

Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, and the contradictions of considerable confusion:

ID cards 'wouldn't stop attacks'

"I don't think any of us want to live a life where we have to go through security checks every moment of our lives."

Charles Clarke, Home secretary

Consideration would need to be given to checks on people boarding tube trains, ID cards and data exchange, he says.

He also suggested that in future civil liberties may have to be curtailed.

Asked by BBC Radio 4's Today programme if ID cards could have prevented Thursday's atrocity, Mr Clarke said: "I doubt it would have made a difference.

"I've never argued ... that ID cards would prevent any particular act."

And the story ends with:

Meanwhile, Qinetiq, the privatised former Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, and London Underground have rejected claims made in the Times that body scanners are to be used on the tube.

The two organisations say the report is "inaccurate" and there are no plans to use the scanners.

Qinetiq is providing some equipment but cannot discuss it.

What technology is it that Qinetiq, the corporate arm of the government security services (hello guys!), could be offering to London Underground that would have to be kept from the knowledge of the same public that travels the underground system?

Accountable? Who? Us?

Update: Oh, so that's what it is, just like in Total Recall. Hmmm.