The findings come just a week after senior Labour MPs accused the Prime Minister of ‘cooling’ over a compulsory scheme.
Mr Brown said it remains the Government’s policy to move ahead with the controversial plans, subject to a vote in parliament and the success of a voluntary scheme.
Advocates say compulsory ID cards will help protect against identity fraud, tackle illegal immigration and help prevent terrorism, but the scheme has faced strong opposition.
“There really should be no objection to a national ID card as long as the information stored is secure, used for the right purposes and doesn’t aid the creation of a Big Brother state,” said Brian Sims, editor of Security Management Today.
“It’s true that the cost of implementing the scheme is something of an unknown, but can we afford not to do so in an era when our national security is continually under threat?”
Home Office figures released in May 2007 saw the cost of the scheme rise by GB pound 840m in six months, putting the total bill at GB pound 5.75bn. Opponents to the scheme say the final cost will be much higher.
Phil Booth, of the campaign group No2ID, has accused the Home Office of “keeping billions off the true cost of the scheme”.
“The conveniently sliding budget looks only to the rosiest future, and fails to acknowledge the biggest black hole of all, compulsory interrogation of the entire adult population,” he told the BBC last year.
Legislation passed in 2006 allows ID cards to be issued and registered whenever people renew their passport. Reports suggest interviews have already begun at special centres around the UK. About eight per cent of the adult population renew their passport each year, but before the rest of the population are issued with ID cards on a compulsory basis, further primary legislation will have to be laid.
Sixty-eight per cent of the 1404 people questioned on the IFSEC website said yes when asked if they think ID cards are necessary if people already have a passport.
IFSEC 2008 will house a new RFID & Smartcards area, featuring an interactive demonstration zone, which organisers say will be useful for anyone interested in learning more about ID cards.
“Many other European countries already have official ID cards, and it seems the security industry here are behind the scheme,” said IFSEC event director James Blue.
To find out more about visiting IFSEC 2008, and to register for free entry, click here.