UK ID cards unveiled today

Design shown for first time

The first UK ID cards are set to be unveiled today.

The Home Office will show off the design of the card which will be issued to foreign nationals coming to the UK from November 2008.

The first UK citizens to get the cards as part of the controversial scheme will be airport workers from 2009, followed by young people in 2010 and the rest of the population in 2011/12.

The cards, expected to cost about £30, are fitted with a chip containing scans of a facial photograph, two fingerprints and identity information.

People who fail to provide biometric scans for ID cards face penalties of up to £1,000.

These first generation of cards for foreign nationals will be produced by the UK Border Agency, while the Identity and Passport Service is in the process of awarding contracts to five companies short-listed to produce cards for UK citizens.

The Conservatives have repeatedly stated they will scrap ID cards if the party is returned to power in the next election, leading to some companies withdrawing from the scheme's procurement process.

Doubts have also been raised about its reliance on fingerprints, after the independent Biometrics Assurance Group said it would struggle to get the necessary clear prints from the four million people in Britain aged over 75.