It does not follow, as argued in your Opinion column last week, that ‘solicitors are going to be early adopters of the ID infrastructure, whether they like it or not’ (see [2009] Gazette, 9 April, 8).

The government is aware of the difficulty of selling the scheme to the public. Their own polling established that the only area where there is popular support is so-called ‘ID cards for foreigners’. Hence the cynical decision to make it compulsory for resident foreigners to carry their visa credentials in the form of cards.

Significantly, there is still not a single reader to verify the cards. Even the UK Borders Agency is not using readers at ports. Officers, or anyone else bound to make an identity check, can do no more than carry out visual checks and make a phone call if suspicious. The UKBA website helpfully explains that ‘physical checks can also be performed on the card. As it is made entirely from polycarbonate, it will have a distinctive sound when flicked’.

The preferred suppliers referred to in your editorial are contracted simply to develop the databases. The appointment does nothing in itself to develop the infrastructure. There are no current plans to issue readers to any government department. Solicitors will therefore be very foolish to start planning to use ID cards in 2011.

Paul Kaufman, Wiseman Lee, London