EIGHTEEN months after steamrollering the Identity Cards Act through Parliament, and having already spent more than £72m of taxpayers' money, the Government has announced the beginning of its procurement process for the National Identity Scheme.

PA Consulting, the original "development partner" for the ID programme, estimated in 2005 that the "development and procurement phases" would cost £18.74m, thus (so far) quadrupling the Government's first suggested costs.

This makes the £20bn estimate by the London School of Economics (LSE) for setting up the scheme look rather more accurate than the Government's unsubstantiated figures.

Without doubt, £20bn spent instead on extra police officers on the street would make a real difference to people's lives and sense of security. However, it would do little to boost profits of Government IT contractors.

We urge readers to write to their MPs demanding the money be spent on real security measures, not a backdoor surveillance scheme to snoop and track the majority of honest residents.

Councillor Steve Radford, President, The Liberal Party, Liverpool.