ID card cabinet minister accused in visa scandal

UK NEWSPAPER The Sunday Telegraph has accused the UK cabinet minister responsible for the push to ID cards of using his position to bestow favours on his ex-mistress using his government position.

The Telegraph alleges David Blunkett pushed through a visa application for the nanny of his girlfriend, Kimberly Quinn, and arranging other favours for her including first class rail travel using taxpayers' money.

But Blunkett denied today he used his position as Home Minister in the UK government to fast track a visa, although he said he helped to fill in the visa form for the Filipina nanny.

In the report, the Telegraph said that it had seen a copy of an email written by Mrs Quinn, claiming Blunkett personally intervened to help the Filipina woman, Luz Casalme, stay in the UK. Mr Blunkett, said the paper, had a secret three year affair with Kimberly Quinn, and she accuses him in the email of being paranoid.

Blunkett last week proposed the introduction of an ID card scheme in the UK, which will cost over £3 billion on current estimates.

The ID cards are set to use biometric identifiers in an embedded semiconductor, and government plans are to make the cards compulsory for all UK subjects.

He now finds his job in the government under threat, although Tony Blair, the British prime minister, has stepped in to back him to the hilt. µ

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