Petition against digital ID cards receives 1.5 million signatures

A petition calling for the government to scrap plans for digital identity cards has received more than 1.5 million signatures.

Sir Keir Starmer announced on Friday that the government would introduce a new ID system by 2029 that would be mandatory for people working in the UK.

The petition called on the government to commit to not introducing digital ID cards, saying: “We think this would be a step towards mass surveillance and digital control, and that no one should be forced to register with a state-controlled ID system.”

It received more than 6,800 signatures in an hour on Saturday morning as it reached more than 1,564,000 entries.

Petitions on the UK Government which receive more than 100,000 signatures will be considered for debate.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage criticised the planned scheme, calling it “an anti-British card”.

Writing in the Daily Express, he said: “The Labour Government’s plan to impose digital ID cards on all adults will do nothing to combat illegal immigration. But it will give the state more power to control the British people.”

Ministers had previously said the ID would only be needed as proof someone has the right to work in the UK as part of a bid to cut illegal immigration.

But Darren Jones, who is spearheading the policy as chief secretary to the Prime Minister, suggested digital ID could have much wider uses in future.

He told the Global Progress Action summit in London: “If we get this digital ID system working and the public being with us, that will be the bedrock of the modern state and will allow for really quite exciting public service reform in the future.”

Earlier, Sir Keir had told the same conference that digital ID would help convince voters the immigration system was “fair”, saying: “Decent, pragmatic, fair-minded people, they want us to tackle the issues that they see around them.”

People will not be required to carry the ID, which will be held on smartphones, or asked to produce it.