The national ID card scheme: a perfect example of a solution without a problem. At least from the point of view of the citizen, there is nothing that it’s needed for and only downsides to it. Like all that “being reduced to a number” and “handing over guardianship of your identity to someone else”. Oh, and the bit about “not trusting this shower of political bastards as far as you could throw them, let alone the next unknown lot”.

But our political masters want ID cards, for reasons unknown. As do elements of the Home Office, probably because it makes life easier for cops if the more law abiding can be safely reduced to numbers and statistics, while the really bad folks won’t have ID cards and can therefore be ignored.

Because they want these cards, and because we don’t, they keep having to come up with solutions. Originally, they were to stop terrorism in its tracks, but that was shown to be a lie seven seconds after the claim was made when it was pointed out that Spain has a national ID card and still has terrorism. Then it was identity theft that was to be banished, but that waas shown to be a bit of a paper tiger, and the controls on the ID card were shown to be stupidly easy to beat.

So now all the claims are about how it will be easier to interact with the state. And funnily enough, those interactions are getting less easy and more delayed, just in time to say that an ID card would improved them. What fun.

Millions could be asked to provide ID card and fingerprint data to get a job under new systems being developed by the Home Office following a collapse in the accuracy of background checks.

News of the plans emerged in the response to a Register Freedom of Information Act request to the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). Today campaigners warned it could be used to help impose ID cards through the back door.

Remember: the CRB is another thing like the ID card. It was introduced by this government in a cack handed manner, and won’t solve any problems because it works from flawed data. Also, it erases the concept of presumed innocence and once again says that only the state can provide a proper judgement of character. A concept that is so beyond laughable I just wept a little.

Saying that having the ID cards would make it easier to get your CRB check is like saying that having one leg broken would make it easier for people to catch you to break your other leg: it ignores the rather basic assumption that leg breakage is a bad thing, and something to be avoided.

But the circular arguments (that ID cards will solve problems that the people who want us to have ID cards keep creating) will go on, I fear. Because those arguments are all that they have left.