Digital ID scheme introduced as mandatory to work in the UK

Presenting a Digital ID is expected to become a requirement to work in the UK, in the Government’s latest bid to target unauthorised migration.

Demonstration of digital ID cards will likely be required when seeking employment, to provide proof of identity and residency in the UK. In a separate piece for the Telegraph, Prime Minister Keir Starmer committed to rolling out the scheme by the end of this Parliament after a consultation period.

He added, “the belief that uncontrolled legal migration was nothing but good news for an economy should never have been accepted on the Left. It is not compassionate Left-wing politics to rely on labour that exploits foreign workers and undercuts fair wages”

However, human rights groups and civil liberties organisations have immediately urged the Government to reverse their position in a letter from campaign group Big Brother Watch. The decision has been branded “uniquely harmful to privacy, equality and civil liberties.”  They continued:

“The proposed schemes fundamentally misunderstand the ‘pull factors‘ that drive migration to the UK and would do very little to tackle criminal people-smuggling gangs or employers and landlords who operate ‘off the books’

“Instead, it would push unauthorised migrants further into the shadows, into more precarious work and unsafe housing.”

Big Brother Watch has also published new research on the dangers of digital ID and why privacy must be protected’ which concludes that:

Universal mandatory digital ID is unlikely to tackle unauthorised immigration. It would however, increase the burdens on law-abiding citizens and push unauthorised immigrants towards unsafe housing and exploitative work. Ultimately, it remains grossly disproportionate to infringe on the civil liberties of over 60 million people in the UK in an attempt to tighten restrictions on a few hundred thousand, particularly when there are simpler means of doing so.

Additionally, YouGov polling revealed that nearly two in three (63%) respondents said that they did not trust the government to keep their digital ID data safe.

A government spokesperson said:

“We are committed to using tech to make it easier for people to interact with the state, learning from other countries on how best to deliver this for citizens.

We will look at any serious proposals that would help people access public services, including digital ID.”