Digital IDs will likely hold less data than online cookies – Attorney General

Digital IDs will “probably” hold much less personal data than online cookies, the Government’s most senior law officer has said.

Lord Richard Hermer said he had “bitterly opposed” the concept when Sir Tony Blair sought to introduce a similar system, but that technology had fundamentally changed notions of privacy since the early 2000s.

Speaking at a fringe event organised by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and Amnesty International at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, the Attorney General suggested the information held on such IDs would be limited.

It comes amid concerns about the scope of the proposed scheme after Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said the system would form “the bedrock of the modern state” if rolled out successfully.

Ministers had previously suggested the ID would only be needed as proof someone had the right to work in the UK as part of a bid to cut migrants from seeking to work in the UK without permission.

“Look, I remember being bitterly opposed to them when Tony Blair sought to introduce them but I think the world has moved on,” he said.

“I have certainly moved on. The grounds on which I opposed them quite a long time ago – the world is a different place.

“Our notions of privacy are entirely different. If I’m looking at what is on my phone and what despite all the time I try to get the cookies off, what various vendors have by way of information about me, that is going to be vastly more than probably we’re going to have as a Government.”

The policy, unveiled by Sir Keir Starmer at a conference of centre-left leaders in London last week, is likely to come under further scrutiny at Labour’s annual gathering in Liverpool.

The Prime Minister announced on Friday that the Government would introduce a new ID system by 2029 that would be mandatory for people working in the UK.

Sir Keir said earlier on Sunday that the system would deter migrants from coming to the UK.

Ministers have said the ID will only be required as proof of the right to work as part of a bid to cut illegal immigration, but that there was scope for its use to be widened in future to access public services.

More than two million people have signed a petition opposing the plans and calling them “a step towards mass surveillance and digital control”.

Labour backbencher Bell Ribeiro-Addy has said the backlash shows people do not understand the purpose of the move and cast doubt on how it would stop people working in the shadow economy.

But Sir Keir said he was “absolutely convinced” that one of the reasons migrants travelled through France to reach the UK was that it was easier to work illegally here than in other countries.

It was put to him on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that those prepared to hire people illegally would not ask for ID, to which he replied: “We must be really clear. You must have ID, mandatory digital ID, in order to work, because we have to stop illegal working.

“If you look at any of the raids – we’ve massively increased the number of raids on working premises – it is absolutely clear that people are working illegally.”

He said the ID scheme meant there would be an “automatic collection” of information so the Government knew who was working and could better enforce existing rules.

Ministers envisage the system working by storing an ID on smartphones in the same way as contactless payment cards or the NHS app, but said people would not be required to carry it or asked to produce it.

Opposition parties have criticised the plans, with the Conservatives describing it as a “gimmick” that would not help cut illegal immigration.

Reform UK called the plans a “cynical ploy” designed to “fool” voters into thinking something was being done about immigration, while the Liberal Democrats said they would fight “tooth and nail” against the proposals.