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Digital ID: Labour blasted for ‘picking on British veterans’ in ‘sneaky’ digital card rollout

Labour has been blasted for “picking on veterans” in a “sneaky” digital ID rollout for a select number of Britons this week.

Speaking on Breakfast with Stephen and Anne, political commentator Suzanne Evans threw heavy criticism at the Government for its latest move towards digitisation.

“I think this is a bit sneaky,” she told Stephen, with Anne adding: “A bit sinister.”

“Picking on veterans – the people that have put their lives on the line for this country to roll out this digital ID project, which the Government is clearly determined to do,” Ms Evans fumed.

Sir Keir Starmer could use 300,000 military veterans as a “case study” ahead of launching the policy more widely, a Labour minister confessed on Friday.

Currently, the digital ID plans, laid out by Labour on the eve of its party conference, have fed a wildfire of criticism as concerns skyrocket over possible infringements on British freedoms as well as data protection.

As a result, more than 2.8 million people have signed a petition to halt Sir Keir Starmer’s policy – despite the Government insisting that it will plough on ahead with the rollout.

“They said we’re doing it. So it’s a big two fingers up, really to everybody that signed that petition,” Ms Evans fumed.

Digital ID petition

“Making veterans effectively do it first, even though at the moment it’s not going to be compulsory, I think is wrong. They’ve chosen veterans.

The Government claims the digital ID system “is fit for the needs of modern Britain”.

Labour went on to say that the policy will drive growth as well as curb illegal migration by making the digital cards a requirement as proof of right to work.

Anyone starting a job or looking to rent would be required to show the card, which will then be verified against a database of individuals entitled to live and work in Britain.

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The scheme, which would see the UK follow in the footsteps of nations like Estonia, would see every UK citizen and legal resident having to hold a free national ID card aged 16 and over.

Meanwhile, GB News star similarly chastised the Government’s decision to use British veterans as “Government guinea pigs” in the first stage of the rollout.

Reacting live on the People’s Channel, Alex commented: “It doesn’t sit well with me, I’ll tell you that for sure.”

He added: “We don’t do a good job of looking after our veterans as it is. Many people will be wondering if they are indeed guinea pigs.”

Digital ID protesters

On Friday, Digital Government Minister Ian Murray claimed that the rollout of digital cards for veterans could show off its benefits to the public and settle some of their fears.

Mr Murray said: “[It’s] probably a demonstration to the public by default, in that sense, on the basis that this is the first use case for having a digital credential on your smartphone, and that digital credential is the first sort of verifiable one that Government have now launched.

“So, using a closed group like the 300,000 veterans is a really good case study to show that it does work.

“And it will be very beneficial, it shows the technology works, that shows that we can prove and dispense with some of those legitimate concerns around privacy and security and those kinds of issues.”

However, he insisted that the main point of launching the ID card to veterans was not a test for the wider rollout, which remains optional.

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Writers at Lord’s Press come from a range of professional backgrounds, including history, diplomacy, heraldry, and public administration. Many publish anonymously or under initials—a practice that reflects the publication’s long-standing emphasis on discretion and editorial objectivity. While they bring expertise in European nobility, protocol, and archival research, their role is not to opine, but to document. Their focus remains on accuracy, historical integrity, and the preservation of events and individuals whose significance might otherwise go unrecorded.

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