The benefits of ID cards

In case you were wondering just how useful ID cards were in preventing those nasty foreigners and illegal immigrants coming here, then this story in The Register will put your mind at rest.
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More details have emerged about the Dutchman who, dressed as The Joker from Batman, recently managed to get himself a national ID card.

Robert Coleman, 35, currently on sick leave, was until recently the security guard of Het Torentje (Little Tower), the two-storey round tower in The Hague, which serves as the office for Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

According to Dutch newspapers, Coleman constantly complained about his limited working space, but these grievances were largely ignored.

Earlier this week, Coleman flew to London using his Joker ID card. Pictures of Coleman, standing in front of the Big Bang and 10 Downing Street, were posted in the forum of the popular Dutch blog Fok. However, on his way back he was forced to surrender his card to the authorities at Schiphol Airport.

Coleman says he pulled the stunt to show that the regulations for passport photos are not watertight. He got his card by claiming he had to dress this way because of religious principles. He also managed to apply for a driver's license picturing him with The Joker's white skin and dark hat. "What is the point of having a license or card if nobody cares to check?" he argues.

Although his card has been taken, Coleman intends to travel to New York to repeat his prank, but "needs a sponsor". However, the Dutch interior ministry already warned that it will no longer allow clowns' faces on passports.