Islington needs more police - not ID cards

7.10.14pm GMT Tue 11th Jan 2005

It's fascinating to read the arguments about ID cards being debated in the Islington Tribune. For once, I agree with Tony Blair on the issue ? Tony Blair ten years ago when he was living here in Islington. At the time he put it very simply; ?Instead of wasting hundreds of millions of pounds on compulsory ID cards as the Tory Right demand, let that money provide thousands of extra police officers on the beat in our local communities.?

Last year the Metropolitan Police Authority warned that major additional government funds are needed to make the promise of ward-based policing a reality for every part of London. I believe every ward in Islington needs the extra police teams & this would be much better use for our taxes than ID cards. Perhaps if Mr Blair still lived in the real world he would agree!