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    Home Affairs Select Committee has launched an inquiry into Digital ID. The deadline is 21 August 📂 Archived Message

    Posted by Gerard on August 21, 2025, 9:45 pm

    "The Home Affairs Select Committee has launched an inquiry into Digital ID.

    The deadline is 21 August – it is really important we all respond. Here’s how:

    STEP 1: Adapt our template below for your own response
    IMPORTANT: We strongly encourage you to edit this and “make it your own” with your own thoughts.

    Unique responses are likely to be taken much more seriously.

    Note: several of the questions are specialist and not that relevant to the average person, which is why we don’t address every question in the template.

    Dear Chair Dame Bradley and Members of the Home Affairs Select Committee,

    I am writing in response to your call for evidence for the inquiry, "Harnessing the potential of new forms of digital ID."

    I am an individual extremely concerned about the prospect of compulsory digital ID, and would like to address some of the questions:

    QUESTION 2. What potential benefits could the use of new forms of government-issued digital identification have for the Government's ambitions to reduce crime and to manage migration?

    It is hard to see any potential benefits for digital ID in these areas that could possibly outweigh the risks. Passports and visas are sufficient forms of identification at borders and exits. Illegal immigrants will not be using legitimate points of entry and presumably must have already circumvented other countries' ID schemes to get to the UK in the first place. Police and financial institutions already have the capacity to check identification when necessary through existing documentation.

    QUESTION 3: What different categories of information about individuals could most usefully be included in government-issued digital identification?

    This question highlights a major risk of digital ID, that a centralised system becomes a catch-all database, with all sorts of information held on a “just in case” basis, potentially becoming a government file on citizens.
    This is not appropriate in a democratic society and is likely to cause a range of serious problems. Personallyas a British citizen, I would not be comfortable living in a society where the government holds a large amount of personal information about me. The level and kind of information for any government-issued documentation should meet the requirements for that particular document or service but not exceed them.

    QUESTION 4: What potential risks does the adoption of new forms of digital identification have for individuals, including risks to privacy and security of personal data?

    As a British citizen, I believe I should be free to live without mandatory ID checks or constant verification. I have a right to privacy and to control my personal data. A centralised digital ID system undermines that, risking misuse by current or future governments, such as enforcing "vaccine passports" or restricting access to services. Once introduced, it could be hard to limit or reverse. The government has previously denied plans for mandatory digital ID, so this reversal raises serious trust issues.

    As to risks of data breaches - the state's track record is so pitiful it beggars belief, the Afghan data breach scandal being only the most recent in a very long list. Add to this the poor track record specific to the One Login system and outsourcing to countries with weak cybersecurity reputations. Digital ID could expose sensitive health and personal data to third parties, including commercial partners and overseas contractors. It would also exclude those without smartphones or digital access. I want the right to verify my identity offline - securely, privately, and without coercion.

    I am strongly opposed to any plan for compulsory digital ID or ID cards, which I believe would erode our privacy, undermine British values, and move us towards a “Papers Please” society that has no place in this country.

    Yours sincerely,
    STEP 2: Copy and paste your words into a document
    For example Word format
    Be sure to add your name
    Save your finished document ready for submitting
    STEP 3: Submit your document
    Follow the process of submitting your document via the Inquiry web page:

    CLICK HERE to start the process of submitting the document you just created":

    You may need to convert you submission document: https://convertio.co/download/07593c911daf7e891ace8d32ac24d936f33ad3/

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