The UK is an outlier by not taking up ID, research finds, as Tony Blair calls for digital card ‘shake up’
The UK is one of the only developed economies not using a form of national ID card, research has shown.
Research for Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips found that of the 38 OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, just six – all predominantly English-speaking – do not have an ID scheme: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United States and the UK.
Debate over digital ID cards reignited this week, following the latest intervention by former prime minister Sir Tony Blair.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Sir Tony argued: “Lower taxes, reduced spending and improved outcomes have often seemed like the Holy Grail of governing: desirable but impossible. Modern technology puts it within reach.
“Our present system isn’t working,” he added. “This is a time for shaking up. For once-in-a-generation disruption. Digital ID is a good place to start.”
Compulsory physical ID was one of the flagship projects in Mr Blair’s premiership, but plans were shelved by the coalition government before they could be introduced.
Mr Blair’s Institute for Global Change estimates the scheme would cost £1bn to launch and £100m a year to maintain, but could save the Treasury £2bn a year.
Separate analysis in 2019 by consultants McKinsey found ID cards could boost Britain’s GDP by 3% by streamlining bureaucracy and access to public services.
But opponents argue they pose risks to civil liberties and could lay the foundations for a surveillance state.
The implementation of ID cards varies widely around the world.
Cards remain only optional in most OECD countries, whereas Chile, Luxembourg and Turkey legally require citizens to carry ID at all times.
There seems to have been a move towards ID cards in recent years, with Norway, Hungary, Denmark, Japan and Lithuania all introducing them in the last 10 years.
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The UK government has given mixed signals over whether digital ID is on the agenda.
Speaking to Sky’s Trevor Phillips days after the election, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper “would be looking at all the sources of advice” on the issue – only to reverse that in another interview hours later.
The government has since tabled legislation to help create “digital identities”, allowing people to opt in or out of having certain information, like their address or biometrics, on their digital record.
Ministers have made pains to stress these would be neither mandatory nor digital ID cards.
Australia started rolling out a similar scheme earlier this month, despite concerns over privacy and safeguarding.
On today’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Trevor will be joined by Border Security Minister Angela Eagle, shadow home secretary Chris Philp, and journalist and historian Anne Applebaum.
Watch it live on Sky News from 8.30am, and follow along live on the Politics Hub.
MPs have voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales.
The amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, abolishing the prosecution of women for terminating their pregnancy at any stage, passed by 379 votes to 137.
It represents the biggest shake-up in reproductive rights for almost 60 years.
Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who tabled the so-called “New Clause One” (NC1), said it would ensure women do not face investigation, arrest, prosecution or imprisonment in relation to any pregnancies.
She said the current “Victorian” laws had been used against vulnerable women, citing cases such as Nicola Packer, who was prosecuted on suspicion of having an illegal abortion. She was found not guilty in May.
“Nicola’s story is deplorable, but there are many others,” Ms Antoniazzi said.
Abortion in England and Wales is currently a criminal offence but is legal with an authorised provider for up to 24 weeks after conception. The procedure is allowed after this time in very limited circumstances.
It is also legal to take prescribed related medication at home if a woman is less than 10 weeks pregnant.
Ms Antoniazzi said NC1 was “a narrow, targeted measure” that would not change how abortion services were provided or the rules under the 1967 Abortion Act.
Pro-choice campaigners demonstrating for decriminalising abortion in the UK
She said: “The 24 [week] limit remains. Abortions still require the approval of signatures of two doctors, and women would still have to meet the grounds laid out in the Act.”
The MP said that meant healthcare professionals “acting outside the law and abusive partners using violence or poisoning to end a pregnancy would still be criminalised, as they are now.”
She added: “This piece of legislation will only take women out of the criminal justice system because they are vulnerable and they need our help.
“As I have said before, and I will say it again, just what public interest is this serving? This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end.”
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The change will not come into effect immediately as the Crime and Policing Bill is still making its way through Parliament.
A separate amendment, put forward by Labour MP Stella Creasy, went further with a measure to “lock in” the right of a person to have an abortion while protecting those who help them.
However, her amendment was not voted on because Ms Antoniazzi’s passed, as expected.
Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh, speaking against both amendments, described them as “not pro-woman” and argued they “would introduce sex-selective abortion”.
How did MPs vote?
MPs were given a free vote on the amendment, as is typically the case with so-called matters of conscience.
A breakdown of the vote showed it was passed overwhelmingly by Labour and Lib Dem MPs.
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Just eight Conservative MPs voted in favour, while all Reform UK MPs opposed the amendment, with the exception of the party’s leader Nigel Farage, who abstained.
Sir Keir Starmer was not present for the vote as he is currently in Canada for the G7 summit, but said earlier that his “longstanding in-principle position is that women have the right to a safe and legal abortion”.
The issue of women investigated by police over suspected illegal abortions has been in the spotlight due to several recent high-profile cases.
Ms Packer was cleared by a jury last month after taking prescribed abortion medicine at home when she was around 26 weeks pregnant, beyond the legal limit of 10 weeks.
In the Commons, Ms Antoniazzi cited another case of a young mother who was jailed for two years after she was forced to take illegal abortion medication by her abusive partner. He was never investigated.
The UK-US trade deal has been signed and is “done”, US President Donald Trump has said as he met Sir Keir Starmer at the G7 summit.
The US president told reporters in Canada: “We signed it, and it’s done. It’s a fair deal for both. It’ll produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income.”
Sir Keir said the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, describing it as a “really important agreement”.
“So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength,” the prime minister added.
Mr Trump added that the UK was “very well protected” against any future tariffs, saying: “You know why? Because I like them”.
However, he did not say whether levies on British steel exports to the US would be set to 0%, saying “we’re gonna let you have that information in a little while”.
Mr Trump also praised Sir Keir as a “great” prime minister, adding: “We’ve been talking about this deal for six years, and he’s done what they haven’t been able to do.”
He added: “We’re very longtime partners and allies and friends and we’ve become friends in a short period of time.
“He’s slightly more liberal than me to put it mildly… but we get along.”
Sir Keir added that “we make it work”.
As the pair exited a mountain lodge in the Canadian Rockies where the summit is being held, Mr Trump held up a physical copy of the trade agreement to show reporters.
Several leaves of paper fell from the binding, and Sir Keir quickly stooped to pick them up, saying: “A very important document.”
Sir Keir Starmer picks up paper from the UK-US trade deal after Donald Trump dropped it at the G7 summit. Pic: Reuters
The US president also appeared to mistakenly refer to a “trade agreement with the European Union” at one point as he stood alongside the British prime minister.
Mr Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on countries in April. At the time, he announced 10% “reciprocal” rates on all UK exports – as well as separately announced 25% levies on cars and steel.
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In a joint televised phone call in May, Sir Keir and Mr Trump announced the UK and US had agreed on a trade deal – but added the details were being finalised.
Ahead of the G7 summit, the prime minister said he would meet Mr Trump for “one-on-one” talks, and added the agreement “really matters for the vital sectors that are safeguarded under our deal, and we’ve got to implement that”.
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