http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/31/standalone_id_scam/
John Lettice
"The Home Office pulled off quite a coup last week. It contrived to duck or ignore a series of criticisms of its ID card scheme, and announced minor changes which in some cases could actually be seen as strengthening it. Meanwhile, a good section of the press was sent chasing off with the biggest non-concession of the lot - the abandonment of the combined identity card.
Presuming this was not entirely accidental, someone, surely, deserves a knighthood. Several national papers, together with the BBC, led into the story by saying that plans to combine identity card with passports and driving licences had been dropped, with the change coming 'in response to MPs who said the plans were badly thought out' (BBC). Home Office research was then cited as saying the majority of the public preferred that the ID card should be a separate document. The Home Office announcement had said that the scheme would involve: 'A single, universal ID card for all UK nationals, to be issued alongside passports. This will simplify the operation of the scheme, and reflects public support for a universal card.'
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We have no idea how much of the synchronicity in the coverage can be attributed to the journalist's notorious herd instinct and how to much to actual herding, but we can say that none of the news organisations can have anyone involved in the coverage with sufficient knowledge of the scheme to sp"
