The government is blocking a Lords proposal that would let people apply for a passport without registering on the ID card database

Progress towards identity cards resumed this week as the House of Commons voted to overturn a Lords amendment that would let people apply for a passport without registering their details on the database for the national ID card scheme.

The Lords inserted the amendment claiming that linking the ID card database to passports effectively breached the government's manifesto promise that ID cards would be voluntary at first.

But home secretary Charles Clarke disputed this logic, insisting that passports are voluntary documents and peers should now back the bill.

Clarke’s pleas are likely to fall on deaf ears, however. The indications are the Lords will again oppose the measure when it votes on the proposals later this week.

The government has claimed that the card scheme will help to prevent identity fraud. But experts have argued that unless the cards are compulsory, firms and public sector bodies using them to verify customers and citizens' identities will also have to provide alternative means of authentication - leaving loopholes that fraudsters could still exploit.