Government plans to launch digital versions of UK government-issued IDs such as driving licenses have been dismissed by privacy campaigners as creating a 'honeypot for hackers'.
The plans, announced yesterday by science and technology secretary Peter Kyle, will see official identification documents made available in a new GOV.UK Wallet app.
Starting with a UK Armed Forces Veterans Card, ministers plan to have driving licenses available on the app before the end of the year – putting an end to pulling out your wallet or handbag to prove your age in shops.
By 2027, ministers want all government-issued ID cards to be available in the app wherever practical, locked behind biometric data such as facial recognition – and unlocked in the same way as paying with Apple Pay or Google Pay on a phone.
But privacy campaigners say the plan has echoes of Tony Blair's failed attempt to introduce identity cards in the last Labor government – and could expose Britain's most sensitive information to hackers.
Silkie Carlo, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said the digital ID system risks becoming “all-encompassing”, bringing together “a huge amount of information” and creating a “nightmare database state”.
“It has the hallmarks of the nightmare database status expected with Blair's failed ID scheme, only in mobile, digital form,” she said.
“The addition of our facial recognition data makes this vast identity system incredibly sensitive, intrusive and a honeypot for hackers.
'The government should modernize and give people digital options with identity documents, but this approach actually threatens to limit our choices and control over our own data.'
A government-issued image showing what the digital driving license could look like in the GOV.UK Wallet app
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said he wanted to make digital identities “desirable” but said they would not be mandatory
Big Brother Watch director Silkie Carlo said the app could act as a 'honeypot for hackers'
Announcing the app on Tuesday, Mr Kyle said that using the GOV.UK Wallet app would not be mandatory, and that people could still use physical documents instead if they preferred.
But Ms Carlo said the right to use physical identification papers was not enshrined in law – and warned it could be withdrawn at any time without notice.
She added: “Despite our campaign, the government is inexplicably refusing to legally protect the right to use non-digital IDs, and has not explained whether we can control how much of our sensitive information will be available through this wallet.
“Without such basic protections, this smacks of a mandatory ID system in all but name, disadvantaging the millions of people in this country who rely on physical documents and letters and who cannot or do not want to use digital identity systems.”
The introduction of a digital ID card policy is a volte-face for Labour, she had said after the elections that it had no plans to introduce them.
Identity cards were a final policy of the Blair government, discarded by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition.
Nevertheless, Sir Tony Blair has continued to advocate for them, claiming they could be used to properly monitor and control immigration in digital form.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said of the proposal last year: “That is not our approach.”
The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology has not explained the reversal, but international pressure could have something to do with it.
Finland became the first country in the world to issue digital passports in 2023, which were piloted on Finnair flights between Helsinki and the United Kingdom. The European Commission unveiled plans for digital passports in the Schengen travel area last year.
The days of having to get your driver's license to prove your age will soon be a thing of the past
The UK government has confirmed that a digital version of the UK driving license will be launched this year
Some countries also offer digital driver's licenses, including Australia, Denmark, Iceland and Norway, and a handful of states in the US.
In November, the government also introduced digital identity legislation, which could make processes such as obtaining bank accounts much easier and more secure.
But Derek Gordon, a digital identity expert at NCC Group, said the push to put digital information on a smartphone app ultimately posed a huge security risk – and an additional “entry point” for cybercriminals to steal personal data.
“If thieves were able to get their hands on this data, it could be used for identity theft, to commit fraud or resold on the black market,” he said.
The GOV.UK Wallet will, in theory, make it easy to access all government-issued paperwork, including DBS checks and driving licenses.
Mr Kyle has said that 'nothing is off the table' when it comes to identity documents – suggesting they could be used to carry asylum and immigration documentation.
He reportedly swapped a suit and tie for a casual jacket, t-shirt and jeans to launch the plans – in the style of a tech guru unveiling a new smartphone or app – and said he thought carrying digital IDs was 'desirable wanted to make.
Commenting to The Times, he said: 'We don't currently have a work plan to get the digital wallet specifically for asylum processes because every asylum seeker currently has to provide biometric data and fingerprints and so on and carry a card when they're here.
“But we're only at the beginning of this. Every government department is actively exploring how the frameworks we are putting forward here today can be leveraged for the users of public services beyond.
“So nothing is off the table when we have these conversations.”
A new app will be unveiled this summer, which will include a 'wallet' to store digital versions of official documents (stock image)
Some digital ID apps already exist, such as Yoti (above), which is accepted by the post office
In the future, ministers want Brits to travel abroad and do everything they need to at the airport on their phone – and no longer have to fumble around for passports at the last minute.
Digital IDs are already available in some forms in Britain. Identity app Yoti, for example, has been approved by the government – and the digital ID is accepted as proof of age and identity at post offices and Lloyds Bank.
“Along with the CDs, the Walkman and the flip phones, the overflowing drawer full of government letters and the hours spent on hold trying to get a basic appointment will soon be a thing of history,” Kyle said in a statement.
'GOV.UK Wallet means that any letter or identity document you receive from the government can be issued to you virtually.
'For people who choose to use GOV.UK Wallet, they will find it easier to prove their entitlement to benefits or check their age when buying alcohol or DIY equipment, with greater security and confidence than ever before.
'Crucially, it also offers huge potential to make interacting with government services much easier by putting people in control of their own data.
'We will overhaul the way the public sector uses technology that is essential to delivering our Plan for Change, and combined with this new technology that people can use themselves, we will reduce the time people waste dealing with tedious processes push back, so that they focus on what is important to them.'
The government said it hopes the app will make using services – such as applying for childcare or reporting a lost passport – much easier.
It also ensures that digital credentials are accessible immediately after a successful application, rather than waiting for them to arrive in the mail.
In addition, it helps prevent valuable documents from being lost when moving or behind filing cabinets.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: 'This is a game changer for the millions of people who use their driving license as proof of identity.
“The innovation puts the power back in the hands of the people, making everyday interactions faster, easier and safer.”
Identity cards were first championed by Tony Blair during his time in government, but the policy was dropped under the Tory-Lib Dem coalition
The digital update comes alongside announced plans to deliver £45 billion in efficiency savings by using digital tools and data to upgrade public services, including the introduction of AI tools into the civil service to speed up work in Whitehall.
Working together in government could even ensure that benefit fraudsters are banned from driving if they repeatedly fail to return cash to taxpayers in an attempt to stamp out benefit fraud.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will also be able to recover money directly from fraudsters' bank accounts, in what is being called the biggest fraud crackdown in a generation.
The Public Authorities (Fraud, Mistakes and Recovery) Bill, which would translate the measures into law, will be introduced to Parliament on Wednesday. It will save taxpayers £1.5 billion over the next five years, the DWP estimates.
Once the bill comes into force, benefit fraudsters could be banned from driving for up to two years if they refuse to pay back the money they owe.
Courts can suspend fraudsters' driving licenses at the request of the DWP if they have benefits debts of more than £1,000 and have ignored repeated requests to pay them back.
