MoD reveals loss of 11,000 ID cards

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Opposition parties said the scale of the losses cast fresh doubt on the Government's plans for a national ID card scheme.

According to MoD figures released in a Commons written answer, 4,433 ID cards disappeared in 2006 and a further 6,812 went missing last year.

Tory defence spokesman Gerald Howarth said: "This is another example of the Government's scandalous disregard for the security of our citizens and yet another reason why the public has no confidence in the Government's ID card plans for the rest of the population."

Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Nick Harvey said the figures were "just extraordinary" and made a mockery of the security procedures at military facilities.

"This shows the inherent frailty of ID card schemes and is yet another proof that schemes, such as the ID card database, simply won't improve our security against terrorism," he said.

In a statement, the MoD said: "We take the loss of military ID cards very seriously, and we are taking steps to improve general security awareness.

"Military ID cards form one part of the security measures we have in place. They have photographic ID on them, so it would be difficult for them to be used by individuals they have not been assigned to."

The Government has been under pressure over data security since the loss last year of the entire HM Revenue and Customs child benefit database with the personal details of 25 million people.

In January, a laptop computer with details of more than 150,000 people who had applied to join the Armed Forces was stolen from a Royal Navy officer's car parked overnight in Birmingham.