Britain has a long history of rejecting mandatory identification. Digital ID BritCard must be no different, writes Rebecca Vincent in today’s Notebook

Digital ID is back with a vengeance

Following years of calls for a digital ID from Labour figures such as Tony Blair, the Starmer government is reportedly considering a new proposal that would require the entire population to download a mandatory “BritCard”. The plan put forward by think tank Labour Together proposes a mandatory, universal national digital ID that it argues will tackle illegal migration and a range of other societal woes, as well as force the estimated 8m UK residents who do not hold any passport to “get onboarded” by connecting their birth records to the “One Login” system.

From a privacy perspective, this new proposal is just as dangerous as those that have come before. It would fundamentally change the nature of our relationship with the state and turn Britain into a “papers, please” society, putting the burden on all of us to prove our right to be here. It is unclear how such a digital ID would deliver on promises to tackle illegal migration better than existing measures, such as the e-visa scheme, which is riddled with system failures and inaccuracies. But the debate about digital ID isn’t really about immigration; it’s about gaining access to, and control of, everyone’s data. Never mind that doing so would trample privacy rights and create huge digital security risks, as well as pave the way for further digital........

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