The government's controversial ID cards scheme appeared to have been kicked "into the long grass" last night, after the Home Office backed away from a commitment to award a key contract to produce the cards for British citizens this autumn. The so-called "card design and production" contract - for which Fujitsu, IBM, and Thales UK were bidding - would have been one of the costliest stages in the £4.8bn project to introduce a national identity card scheme.

The Home Office conceded the delayed contract may not be awarded until autumn 2010. Given that the Tories have pledged to scrap the scheme, however, it would be unlikely to see the light of day in the event of a Conservative victory in the next general election. The delay comes as the government is facing record levels of public debt and examining ways to slash costs across all departments. It follows a warning yesterday from Chris Grayling, shadow home affairs secretary, that companies involved in the ID scheme should not sign further contracts because of the Tories' intention to abandon it.