Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe MP David Chadwick has raised strong concerns over UK Government plans to introduce a mandatory digital ID system, warning it risks undermining civil liberties while failing to fix problems with the immigration system.

The Government says the new scheme, announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, will make it harder for illegal migrants to work in the UK and easier for citizens to access services such as driving licences, tax records and childcare. The digital ID will be free, stored securely on people’s phones, and mandatory for Right to Work checks by the end of this Parliament.

But Liberal Democrat Mr Chadwick has vowed to oppose the plans.

“The idea of a mandatory digital ID system crosses a red line. It risks undermining long-standing British civil liberties, while doing little to fix the real problems with the immigration system,” he said.

“Digital tools should empower individuals, not hand even more control to government. A system like this would inevitably deepen digital exclusion and hit the most marginalised hardest - including older people, disabled people and those living in poverty, who may have limited access to technology or low digital literacy.

“And all this comes with a multi-billion-pound price tag. That money would be far better spent clearing the asylum backlog with properly resourced processing centres, or improving the NHS for everyone.

“The public have repeatedly rejected these kinds of schemes, and with good reason. The Liberal Democrats stopped them once, and we stand ready to do so again.”

The Lib Dems are running a petition against digital IDs at: www.libdems.org.uk/nodigitalid