SUFFOLK'S most senior policeman has questioned whether controversial ID cards would be the solution to major crime, saying they could become the “gold standard” for hackers.

SUFFOLK'S most senior policeman has questioned whether controversial ID cards would be the solution to major crime, saying they could become the “gold standard” for hackers.

The Government could make the cards compulsory from around 2010 in a bid to crack down on terrorism and organised crime, but Suffolk's Acting Chief Constable Colin Langham-Fitt has voiced his doubts over their use.

He called for a full debate over the creeping increase in surveillance and warned ID cards could change the relationship between the police and the community.

Mr Langham-Fitt, who stressed his comments were his personal views and not those of Suffolk police, said: “They could become the gold standard of ID crime. It could raise the standards and stakes for those who wish to clone them or subvert the system.”

“There should be a debate about the ongoing erosion of civil liberties in the name of the fight against terrorism and the fight against crime.”