I thought the reason we don't have an ID card system was that it was too bloody costly.

That aside, one of the identity partners is Verizon, which don't even do business in the UK. What's their incentive here? Why is giving my passport or driving license details to Verizon better than giving it to Government, a branch of which issued it in the first place? Frankly I think it's nuts and not a win for privacy.