Digital ID flopped 16 years ago but Britain has changed

The rollout was scrapped after an outcry over invasion of privacy. Alex Ross asks if Starmer's Brit card is the answer

- By Alex Ross

It was 16 years ago, on a platform at St Pancras International in central London, when home secretary Alan Johnson stood proudly and flashed a new identity card for the British, calling it a “no-brainer”.

The non-compulsory biometric card was a watered-down version of the Tony Blair government's initial idea for a national ID card but, still, Johnson said it would combat fraud and allow holders, who would pay £30 for the privilege, to travel in Europe without a passport.

But less than 100 days later, following the arrival of the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government, a new home secretary, Theresa May, vowed to “consign the intrusive ID card scheme to history”, with the unpopular rollout producing just 15,000 cards.

“Abolishing the national identity register is a major step in dismantling the surveillance state,” added Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg.

But nearly two decades on, Britain is a wholly different place.

The country has since witnessed the advent of the smartphone era, a continuing rollout of governmental digital services - a digital driving licence is planned later this year - and, critically, an increase in net migration and all the concerns that come with it.

And so, yesterday morning, following days of speculation over the expected launch of a digital ID card scheme, the prime minister confirmed the go-ahead for a proposal to issue a “Brit card” to every UK citizen.

Subject to a consultation and requiring legislation, all adults will have to have a digital ID to prove their right to work by the end of this parliament. Ministers hope it will reduce illegal immigration by curbing the ability of those who come to the UK illegally to earn money.