Ministers want a digital ID. They still can’t say what it will actually do |
By Matthew Feeney
Today, members of Parliament will debate the merits and risks of digital ID.
Like many others, I will be watching the debate, which was triggered by almost three million people signing an anti-digital ID petition, with interest. The debate comes a few months after the prime minister announced his plan for a mandatory digital ID for right-to-work checks. Since then, the government’s handling and presentation of the plan can be charitably described as shambolic. However, what we do know about it should concern everyone who values civil liberties.
A brief reminder of how we arrived at the current state of affairs. In late September, Sir Keir Starmer said that everyone seeking work in the UK by the end of the current Parliament will need a free government-issued digital ID. Never mind that such a plan was not in the Labour manifesto and the government ruled out digital IDs only days after the last general election. The government said that a consultation on digital........