An opponent of the Government’s ID card scheme has labelled the decision to offer them to youngsters in Thames Ditton and Molesey as an “insult to their intelligence”.

This month, the Home Office announced 16 to 24-year-olds in Thames Ditton and Molesey would be able to apply for the cards from Monday, February 8.

The National Identity Cards, which are also being offered to youngsters in London, but not in other parts of Elmbridge, cost £30 and the Home Office said it would provide a “secure and convenient” way for people to prove their identity.

It also claimed it was a solution to youngsters being forced to carry their passports, many of which are subsequently lost, to prove their age when getting into pubs and buying alcohol.

But the Conservative Party’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Esher and Walton, Dominic Raab, who last year published a book attacking the Government’s record on protecting civil liberties, accused the Home Office of trying to bring the cards in by stealth and warned young people not to waste their money.

He said: “Targeting young adults in Surrey is an insult to their intelligence. I am campaigning to make sure people have all the information on ID cards.

“ID cards are incapable of stopping crime, benefit fraud, illegal immigration or terrorism. In fact, they risk making us more, not less, vulnerable, because this Government has a woeful record of safeguarding personal data. Why would anyone trust them with vast amounts of our personal information on the national identity register?”

Mr Raab also said the Government had underestimated youngsters by targeting them.

He said: “The Government thinks youngsters will see the cards as a facilitator of services, but in my experience, students are the group most sceptical of authority and they don’t like ID cards at all.

“ID cards are intrusive, ineffective and - at an estimated £19bn - ludicrously expensive in tough economic times. Introducing ID cards by stealth is just the latest illustration of the creeping authoritarianism of this Government.

“Unfortunately, the Government still thinks there is political mileage in it and it would be to embarrassing for them to back down now. It would be seen as a u-turn.”

Meg Hillier MP, the Home Office minister responsible for the identity cards, denied youngsters had been targeted to bring the scheme in by stealth.

She said: “The National Identity Card, which is entirely voluntary, will prove an extremely useful tool for young people in London, whether they are opening a bank account, buying age-restricted goods such as computer games or DVDs, entering a nightclub or travelling to Europe. We believe young people will quickly appreciate the benefits the card can bring.

“It is nonsense to suggest we are issuing cards to young people ‘by stealth’. We have always said that roll out would be incremental, and this is just the next stage. Young people have the most pressing need to reliably assert their identity on a regular basis.

“The rollout to young people in Thames Ditton and Molesey follows the successful uptake of cards in Manchester and the north-west of England. Up to January 18, more than 3,800 applicants have been enrolled or have made an appointment for a card and we are issuing hundreds of application packs every day.”

Francis Eldergill, the Labour Party constituency spokesman for Esher and Walton, said he supported the scheme, but hoped the price of the cards would be reduced.

He said: “Many young adults will not have a full driving licence and so don’t have this convenient, portable option. This can be particularly annoying since they are more frequently asked to prove their age than older people.

“However, I would like the Government to reduce the cost of the card as much as possible, preferably to something at or less than £10, in order to minimise the financial burden for young adults who choose to take up this option.”