Two in Three Britons have Safety Fears Over Keir Starmer’s Digital ID Card Scheme, Poll Reveals
By SAM MERRIMAN (POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT)
The public fear Keir Starmer’s digital ID card scheme will not be safe.
Polling has found that almost two-thirds of Britons do not trust the Government to keep their digital identity data secure.
It comes as the Prime Minister is expected to announce compulsory digital ID cards for all British residents at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool next weekend.
But polling for civil liberties group Big Brother Watch found 63 per cent of Britons do not trust the Government to keep personal information secure.
Matthew Feeney, advocacy manager of BBW, said the YouGov survey of 2,153 people shows that people fear their data would be stolen in a cyber-attack.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘On top of a digital ID scheme being a civil liberties disaster, it would also represent a significant cybersecurity risk. The Government should abandon plans for a digital ID scheme immediately.’
The warning follows a series of cyber-attacks against British national infrastructure and a colossal data leak when the details of more than 18,000 people who had applied for asylum under the Afghan resettlement scheme ended up in the hands of the Taliban.
The Prime Minister is said to be looking at the idea because he is ‘desperately thrashing around’ to find a solution to the small boats crisi
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce compulsory digital ID cards for all British residents at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool next weekend
employment verification and rental agreements. The concept of ID cards dates back to Tony Blair’s time as prime minister and is still supported by the Labour Right. However those on the Left argue they could be used repressively by future governments.
Yesterday Tory MP Andrew Griffith warned civil liberties would be at risk if a digital ID is implemented and said that ‘a government that sought prison for tweets cannot be trusted with more control’.
He posted on X: ‘A state that can’t run the NHS IT system or secure our borders shouldn’t be trusted to hold the keys to every citizen’s identity.’
But Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey indicated he is open to reconsidering his party’s opposition yesterday. He told the Lib Dem annual conference in Bournemouth that he is now open to the idea, provided they do not curb freedoms.
BBW interim director Rebecca Vincent said: ‘No one voted for this, it was not in the Labour party manifesto, and there has been no public consultation.
‘Mandatory digital ID would fundamentally reverse the nature of our relationship with the state, turning Britain into a checkpoint society where an enormous burden will be placed on law-abiding people in having to prove ourselves to go about our everyday lives.’
Original source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15120559/Two-three-Britons-safety-fears-Keir-Starmers-digital-ID-card-scheme-poll-reveals.html