Digital ID Cards For Everyone In Britain

Uploaded on 2023-03-03 in FREE TO VIEW

Sir Tony Blair and Lord Hague have published a report that makes 40 recommendations on how the technology could be used to transform the British economy and society. In the Report they urge the government to roll out "digital ID" as part of a "fundamental reshaping of the state around technology".

Every citizen should be issued with a “digital ID” as part of a “fundamental reshaping of the state around technology”, Sir Tony Blair and Lord Hague have urged. This would hold details such as their passport, driving licence, tax records, qualifications and right to work status.

In this report, the former Labour prime minister and Conservative leader argue that government records "are still based in a different era". “Science and technology have been the driving force of progress for much of our modern age. Our accomplishments have allowed us to live longer, healthier lives, to travel across the world and into space, and to generate food and energy at scale.

“The United Kingdom has been at the forefront of many of these breakthroughs and was home to one of humanity’s great leaps: the Industrial Revolution. Another revolution is now taking place as developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI), biotech, climate tech and other fields begin to change our economic and social systems.

“Of course, as with the Industrial Revolution, this 21st-century technological revolution carries dangers as well as opportunities... The challenge for policymakers is to mitigate the former and fully embrace the latter. But this requires a fundamental re-ordering of our priorities and the way the state itself functions,” says their Report.

In the Report they recommend “A secure, privacy-preserving digital ID for citizens that allows them to quickly interact with government services, while also providing the state with the ability to better target support.”

As Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007 Tony Blair tried to introduce an ID card scheme, but it was scrapped by the coalition government. Now, Sir Tony says that new biometric technology would overcome concerns about online dangers.

Opponents of identity cards have raised concerns about civil liberties and what they see as unnecessary data collection and intrusion by the state. However, in this Report Sir Tony and Lord Hague, argue digital ID cards would make it easier and more secure for people to access services and for the government to understand their needs and better target support. "In a world in which everything from vaccine status to aeroplane tickets and banking details are available on our personal devices, it is illogical that the same is not true of our individual public records," they write.

They suggest such a scheme could allow people to prove their identity, age, driving licence, right to live and work in the UK and even their educational qualifications. But Silkie Carlo, director of campaign group Big Brother Watch, said the "sprawling digital identity system" proposed by the pair "would be one of the biggest assaults on privacy ever seen in the UK".

"Sir Tony and Lord Hague are absolutely right about the need for the UK to take leadership in technological innovation, but this means protecting people's rights and privacy, not reviving failed proposals for an intrusive mass digital identity system and a database state," she said.

Tony Blair Institute: BBC: Identity Week: Independent: Sky: E&T: Daily Mail:

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