DIGITAL ID legislation has been announced in the King’s Speech despite a key public review still ongoing, with one expert warning the Government is “ignoring its own democratic process” and that, “once ID infrastructure exists, it gets used for things nobody voted for”.
Another said the legislation risks becoming “another black hole for hard-earned taxpayers’ money” while a third dismissed it as “about as useful as a chocolate fireguard”.
Yesterday’s King’s Speech included the Digital Access to Services Bill, giving the government legal powers to create, issue and verify a national digital ID through the GOV.UK app.
He said: “My Ministers will also proceed with the introduction of Digital ID that will modernise how citizens interact with public services.”
The public consultation closed on 5 May and the bill was announced while the government’s own People’s Panel on Digital IDs is still sitting – it doesn’t finish until 21 June.
The scheme is now officially voluntary after the original mandatory version, announced by Sir Keir Starmer in September 2025, collapsed under public opposition.
A parliamentary petition against it gathered 2.9 million signatures, the fourth largest in British history. Public support dropped from 62% to 31% in three months.
Mandatory right to work digital checks remain the plan for everyone except British and Irish passport holders.
A dark day for accountability
Colette Mason, AI Ethics Consultant at London-based Clever Clogs AI, said immigration lawyers are already pointing out that “voluntary” and “mandatory digital right to work checks” sit awkwardly in the same sentence.
She added: “The cost and security record speaks for itself. Once ID infrastructure exists, it gets used for things nobody voted for. Every government that built one said the same thing: it’s voluntary, it’s limited, it’s for your convenience.
“Then the database is there, the integrations are built, and a future Home Secretary with different priorities discovers they already have the wiring. US AI hyperscalers are already rewriting how people work, shop, learn, socially interact, form opinions and access information in this country.
“Now the state wants to centralise identity data on a platform that can’t pass its own security standards, announced on a timeline that ignores its own democratic process. Three million people signed a petition against this. Public support collapsed from 62% to 31%. A dark day for accountability and ethics in British politics.”
About as useful as a chocolate fireguard
Kate Underwood, Founder & Chief People Strategist at Southampton-based Kate Underwood HR and Training, said the government’s systems are not fit for purpose.
She added: “The Digital Access to Services Bill will be built on GOV.UK One Login, and right now it’s about as useful as a chocolate fireguard. I speak from experience. I tried to verify my own identity through it. It failed. Support’s answer? Create a new account with a different email and crack on.
“The computer said no, and the solution was to try a different email. That’s not a workaround. That’s a warning sign. A system that lost its security certification last April, had privileged access compromised undetected, and scraped just 21 of 39 required security outcomes and the government wants to use it to link your HMRC records, NHS data and immigration status into one tidy profile.
“The consultation closed eight days ago. The People’s Panel, which the government commissioned, doesn’t finish until 21 June. They announced the legislation anyway. That’s not consultation, that’s a very expensive rubber stamp on a decision that was already made.”
Bottomless bureaucratic money pit
Kate Allen, Owner at Kingsbridge-based Finest Stays, said it is an “utter shambles”.
She added: “This is a bottomless bureaucratic money pit dressed up as modernisation. The fact the government is pressing ahead with legislation before its own People’s Panel has even concluded already demonstrates the utter shambles this is and will continue to be.
“I have absolutely no confidence that this government can deliver a project of this scale on budget, with the necessary security requirements, and make it genuinely fit for purpose. It will simply become another black hole for hard-earned taxpayers’ money, with very little meaningful gain in return.”
