Is it time the UK introduced mandatory ID?

BritCard could curb illegal immigration and welfare fraud but 'opens the door to the more extensive erosion of privacy'

Illustration of a Union Jack flag patterned with a QR code
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)

Labour is exploring the idea of introducing digital ID cards in the UK as a means of cracking down on illegal immigration and welfare fraud.

Two decades after Tony Blair first proposed the idea, Labour Together, a think tank closely aligned with the government, has put forward plans for a 'BritCard': a "mandatory national digital identity that would be issued free of charge to all those with the right to live or work in the UK, whether they are British-born nationals or legal migrants".

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