What the Sunday papers said

Nine out of ten people in the UK reject the government's plans to introduce identity cards. According to a poll commissioned by the Mail On Sunday, only one in ten people back the plan if, as the government predicts, each adult is to be charged aorund £100 to be issued with a card. The British Polling Index survey found 57 per cent of people supported the general principle of identity cards. Meanwhile a study by the London School of Economics, to be published tomorrow, suggests the technology used in storing data on the cards is 'unstable'. - Mail On Sunday​

Conservative leadership contender David Davies says he will lead the fight against identity cards when the government brings its proposals before the House of Commons this week. Mr Davies says ID cards are 'unnecessary, unworkable, unlikely to make our streets any safer and the government has no idea how much they cost'. - Mail On Sunday​

The personal details of the UK's adult population could be sold to private companies as part of the government's plans to stem the spiralling cost of the new national identity card scheme. Ministers have begun talks with private firms which could lead to the government handing over personal details of UK citizens at an initial cost of £750 per individual. Unions have meanwhile threatened not to co-operate with the scheme should the cost of each card rise to £200. - Independent On Sunday​

The union representing officials who would have to implement the government's identity card scheme have attacked the proposals. At its annual conference Unison delegates voted overwhelmingly to reject the plan, citing it was inpractical and unnecessary. The Transport & General Workers union have also said the identity card proposals risk 'becoming Labour's poll tax'. - The Observer​

Identity cards may become mere 'chip and pin' cards as the government attempts to scale back the potentially escalating costs of the controversial scheme. Alternatively, the ID card may be 'collapsed' into the passport, for which people are already charged £42, scrapping the need for costly biometric technology, such as fingerprinting and iris scans. - Sunday Times​

Mitchells & Butlers, owners of the Browns bar chain, is considering gatecrashing a possible £3bn takeover of Spirit Group by Punch Taverns. Punch is expected to confirm to the London Stock Exchange tomorrow that it has made a preliminary approach to buy the privately-owned Spirit, which operates more than 2,000 pubs. Spirit chief executive Karen Jones would stand to make around £30m from a sale of her 3 per cent stake in the group. - Sunday Times​

Charterhouse, the private equity firm, was expected to finalise over the weekend its its £260m-plus acquisition of Barracuda Group, which operates the Varsity and Smith & Jones outlets. - Sunday Times​

Regent Inns is expected to raise its offer for late night operator Urbium following a call by the Takeover Panel to improve its 820p a share offer by July 21 or walk away. Regent, which runs the Walkabout and Jongleurs chains, is thought to be considering a cash-and-shares offer worth around 900p a share, valuing Urbium at £93.3m. - Mail On Sunday​

Majestic Wine boss Tim How says if his company could find the sites it would 'open 80 more shops tomorrow'. Mr How says he sees no slowdown in the wine market, which has grown six per cent in the last year. Majestic recently announced a near 24 per cent rise in pre-tax profits, to £13.2m. - Sunday Express​

And finally...

The driving force behind the government's anti-smoking legislation Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has revealed why she hates the habit. As a 15 year old studying in France she was once offered a Gauloise cigarette in the smoky confines of a non-alcoholic school club 'where everybody smoked. You couldn't breathe in there. I can think of no better way to put a rather shy teenager off smoking,' she says. - Sunday Telegraph​