Allied to ID Cards is the e-Borders scheme:
UK Border Agency | How does e-Borders work?
which is a de facto exit visa for all British Citizens. This project is also running into problems:
Will EU law stop the e-Borders scheme? | Henry Porter | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
not least because (as some of us have been saying for a long time . . .) the scheme fundamentally breaches Data Protection Laws:
>>Evidence presented to the home affairs select committee on Monday suggests that Britain's plans to use airline, ferry and train operators to collect 53 pieces of information from everyone leaving the country may be illegal under EU law.<<
and
>>In effect, requiring data from passengers will act as an exit visa, because without supplying answers to 53 questions people will not be able to travel. In one nasty data snatch the UKBA has found away of not only breaching the law on privacy enshrined in the Human Rights Act, but also EU treaties that guarantee the right of free movement.<<
The oral evidence from the Home Affairs Committee should appear here:
UK Parliament - hacpn090629no67
in due course!