Sir Keir Starmer has declared that Britons should embrace voluntary ID cards on his two-day visit to Mumbai to discuss India’s own controversial scheme.
The Aadhar scheme – which holds the names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, retinal and finger-print scans of more than a billion people – could be a worrying sign of what could be in store for the UK.
A number of hidden dangers, outlined by openDemocracy, include mass surveillance; a denial of services to the elderly, the impoverished and the infirm; compromised safety and security, along with a fundamentally altered relationship between citizen and state.
Sir Keir has said that digital IDs would be “very important” for employment – however, he added that people could gain a “significant advantage” by using the card beyond work.
Sir Keir’s comments came in the early hours of the second day of his trade visit to Mumbai to hold meetings on trade, business, digital ID and more.
Opinion polls have shown support for the cards have plummeted after the Prime Minister announced they would be mandatory to work in the UK by 2029.
It was Sir Keir’s flagship announcement the day before Labour’s conference in Liverpool last month.
While there has been fierce disapproval of his move, the Prime Minister is adamant it would meet his party’s manifesto to tackle illegal migration.
“We need to address the fact that too many people can come to this country and work illegally,” he said.
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RECAP: Keir Starmer wants to expand Digital ID scheme into other areas outside of work as PM thinks Britain could ‘gain significant advantage’
Sir Keir Starmer believes that Britain could “gain a significant advantage” by expanding the government’s recently announced Digital ID from just covering right to work to other areas.
And he told journalists en route to Mumbai for a two-day trade summit, that “there is a case to be made about the benefits of voluntary ID into other areas”.
The announcement of compulsory Digital ID to be able to work legally, was said to be to help reduce small boat crossings, which have surged under the Labour Government.
Thirty five thousand people have crossed the channel illegally so far this year.
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