FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Do I need a passport for an internal flight?
Old May 2, 2010, 2:39 pm
  #26  
Barham
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Sussex
Programs: BA Exec Club, Skywards, Priority Club
Posts: 333
Originally Posted by Silver Fox
They can ask someone to ascertain their identity under the act (as I understand it) - but I am under no obligation to carry any form of id with me to prove who I am to the police - if I happen to have my passport/driving licence with me as a form of id I would show it to them but I am not aware of a law that requires me to carry it on the off chance they think I am a terrorist. Happy to be proved wrong.
The trouble is, the various pieces of legislation effectively throw the onus on to you. Whereas historically you could argue that since you've done nothing that could cause them to take the slightest interest in you, so sod off - now you're likely to be detained at their whim until they can satisfy themselves as to who you are. Therefore people often carry ID for the sake of an easy life. It's creeping mandatory ID system really.

Of course, the current government's ID card scheme is of a different order altogether - the card is not the issue, the database is.
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