Member

Amendment 53 proposes to extend to online the offences of misuse and falsifying identity documents, so far as they extend offline. I know that successive Governments have been keen to treat online the same as offline. Identity documents should not be falsified or misused, whether offline or online. Indeed, it should not matter whether it is offline or online for it to be an offence to misuse or falsify identity documents. The Identity Documents Act 2010 prescribes the penalties for the separate offences under that Act: 10 years for an offence under Sections 4 and 5 and two years on indictment of the relevant statutory maximum under Section 6.