Clarke opposes Digital ID card plans

SOUTH Antrim DUP MLA Trevor Clarke has joined party colleagues in voicing opposition to a proposal by the Government to introduce Digital ID cards.

Last week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that the scheme will ensure the UK’s borders ‘are more secure’, adding: “You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID. It's as simple as that.”

The IDs will not have to be carried day-to-day, but they will be compulsory for anyone wanting to work.

The government says the scheme will be rolled-out ‘by the end of the Parliament’ - meaning before the next general election, which by law must be held no later than August 2029.

But around 2m people have signed a petition opposing the scheme, including over 2000 in South Antrim.

The digital IDs will be used to prove a person's right to live and work in the UK.

They will take the form of an app-based system, stored on smartphones in a similar way to the NHS App or digital bank cards.

Information on the holders’ residency status, name, date of birth, nationality and a photo will be included.

Employers will no longer be able to rely on a National Insurance number - which is currently used as part of proof of right to work - or paper-based checks.

Mr Clarke said: “I absolutely oppose these plans, it is yet another infringement of our civil liberties.

“There are already mechanisms in place to prevent illegal working and this is just sop to try and pretend that the Labour Government is dealing with immigration.

“I suspect there is another agenda at play here and everyone should sign the petition and voice their opposition.

“Digital ID cards risk our freedoms and privacy. They won't deal with our immigration problems and any solution to immigration must be on a UK wide basis.

“The people haver to come out and say ‘we do NOT want this.”