The UK government's proposed national ID card scheme will harm, rather than help, efforts to curb identity theft, according to some security experts.

The proposed legislation passed its second reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday, after Home Secretary Charles Clarke promised to cap the cost of the cards.

But the government's majority was cut in half, and the scheme has come under increasing fire from analysts and academics.

"The current ID cards plan will raise the threat of identity theft," said Simon Perry, vice president of Computer Associates. 

"All that personal data collected in one place makes a very tempting target for hackers of all kinds."

The scheme will see 51 separate sets of personal information stored electronically on a central database. This is intended to make it easier for central and local government to exchange information.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, said: "It is hard to say whether it will make things worse or not. 

"The key danger is complacency. If we see more systems using it as personal verification, the danger is that people will assume that everything is above board the instant the card is displayed rather than checking."

Under current plans, banks or other approved businesses will be able to verify identity by checking an ID card against the register, with the consent of the ID card holder.

The government has also promised that the information on the national database will not be sold to private companies.