Controversy over proposed mandatory digital identity card in the UK

LONDON - A digital identity card will be compulsory for those who want to work in Britain: this was the announcement by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who presented the measure as a way to control illegal immigration.

"The digital identity card is a huge opportunity for the UK," said Starmer. "It will make it more difficult to work illegally and make our borders more secure, as well as making life easier for citizens, who will be able to prove their identity quickly without having to search for old bills."

It will not be a paper document but only a digital one, like an app on a mobile phone, and will contain essential data such as name, date of birth, residence permit or nationality and photograph. The photo makes the ID card more useful for identifying the social security number (national insurance), which is compulsory to show for anyone working in Britain but is often 'lent' to others or stolen to find employment fraudulently.

For Italians, who are used to carrying identity cards or driving licences at all times, Starmer's announcement does not seem particularly controversial. Yet in Great Britain, controversy has already broken out and within a few hours more than a million people signed a petition against the introduction of compulsory identity cards.

The fear of many citizens is that it is an intolerable infringement of civil liberties. As it stands in Britain there is no requirement to carry identification, not even a driving licence when driving, or to prove one's identity, not even when booking a hotel or being stopped by the police.