Digital ID legislation announced in the King's Speech has been branded "a dark day for accountability and ethics in British politics."
King's Speech Unveils Digital ID Plans
Yesterday's King's Speech included the Digital Access to Services Bill, granting the government legal powers to create, issue and verify a national digital ID through the GOV.UK app. The monarch stated: "My Ministers will also proceed with the introduction of Digital ID that will modernise how citizens interact with public services."
Controversy and Public Opposition
The public consultation on the bill closed on 5 May, yet the government's own People's Panel on Digital IDs is still sitting and will not conclude until 21 June. Critics argue this timeline undermines democratic process. The scheme is now officially voluntary after the original mandatory version, announced by Sir Keir Starmer in September 2025, collapsed under public opposition.
A parliamentary petition against the digital ID gathered 2.9 million signatures, making it the fourth largest in British history. Public support plummeted from 62% to 31% in just three months. Despite the voluntary label, mandatory right to work digital checks remain planned for everyone except British and Irish passport holders.
Expert Criticism
Speaking to Newspage, Colette Mason, AI Ethics Consultant at London-based Clever Clogs AI, highlighted inconsistencies: "Immigration lawyers are already pointing out that 'voluntary' and 'mandatory digital right to work checks' sit awkwardly in the same sentence." She added: "The cost and security record speaks for itself. Once ID infrastructure exists, it gets used for things nobody voted for. Every government that built one said the same thing: it's voluntary, it's limited, it's for your convenience."
Mason warned: "Then the database is there, the integrations are built, and a future Home Secretary with different priorities discovers they already have the wiring. US AI hyperscalers are already rewriting how people work, shop, learn, socially interact, form opinions and access information in this country. Now the state wants to centralise identity data on a platform that can't pass its own security standards, announced on a timeline that ignores its own democratic process. Three million people signed a petition against this. Public support collapsed from 62% to 31%. A dark day for accountability and ethics in British politics."
The bill's progression will be closely watched amid ongoing public and expert scrutiny.
