The Home Office pulled off quite a coup last week. It contrived to duck or ignore a series of criticisms of its ID card scheme, and announced minor changes which in some cases could actually be seen as strengthening it. Meanwhile, a good section of the press was sent chasing off with the biggest non-concession of the lot - the abandonment of the combined identity card.

Presuming this was not entirely accidental, someone, surely, deserves a knighthood. Several national papers, together with the BBC, led into the story by saying that plans to combine identity card with passports and driving licences had been dropped, with the change coming "in response to MPs who said the plans were badly thought out" (BBC).

By John Lettice at The Register.

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