ID cards to be issued in three years

LONDON, March 30 (UPI) -- After rejecting it five times, Britain's upper house of Parliament has accepted an identity card plan, paving the way for its issuance in three years.

The House of Lords accepted an offer from the Home Office that anyone applying for a new biometric passport before January 2010 could opt out of having an ID card, reports the Independent. But applicants must still submit their details for the register.

Opponents the ruling Labor Party had promised the measure would be voluntary. They say requiring new passport holders to apply for ID cards amounts to "compulsion by stealth."

Supporters say the cards will combat identity fraud, false benefit claims, terrorism and illegal immigration.