Sir Keir Starmer’s plot to introduce Digital ID risks destroying British business, a senior Tory has told GB News.
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith argued Digital ID would strangle small firms with enormous levels of red tape, as well as infringe on civil liberties.
Tory MP Jack Rankin joined Mr Griffith in criticising the proposal, pointing out how another controversial piece of legislation acted as a “Trojan horse” for the Prime Minister’s proposal.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Griffith said: “Labour’s obsession with digital ID cards isn’t just a threat to personal freedom, it’s a hammer blow to British business.
“Under these plans, every corner shop, petrol station and small retailer would be forced to police customers’ purchases, turning shop counters into checkpoints.
“It’s more red tape, more bureaucracy, and yet another example of Labour making life harder for the very people who keep our high streets alive.”
Mr Griffith is particularly concerned about Digital ID burdening businesses with additional costs, slowing down transactions and bringing more confusion to both staff and customers.
“Small businesses don’t need digital surveillance schemes, they need freedom to trade, lower costs, and trust in their customers,” Mr Griffith added.
“Labour’s Digital ID agenda would do the opposite: destroy confidence, crush enterprise and drag Britain further into a culture of control.”
Sir Keir Starmer is under increasing pressure to drop the plan
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Mr Rankin’s warning centred around Labour’s efforts to force the Tobacco and Vapes Bill through Parliament.
The legislation, which is waiting to reach the committee stage in the House of Lords, intends to create a smoke-free Britain.
While critics warn the legislation effectively introduces prohibition into the UK, MPs nodded through the proposed clampdown with 303 votes in favour and just 92 votes against.
However, as fears grow around the use of Digital ID, Mr Rankin is calling for peers in the upper chamber to put the legislation on pause.
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith argued Digital ID would strangle small firms with enormous levels of red tape, as well as infringe on civil liberties
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“The Tobacco and Vapes Bill may look like a public health measure, but in reality it risks becoming a Trojan horse for a national ID card scheme,” Mr Rankin said.
“On the surface, Labour says this is about protecting young people from tobacco and vaping. But beneath that veneer lies a far more troubling prospect, a creeping culture of state surveillance and control.”
The Windsor MP, who labelled the triple lock as “unsustainable” at the Conservative Party Conference, added: “Today it is tobacco. Tomorrow, who knows?”
“Once a mandatory ID system exists, there is nothing to stop a future Labour Government from expanding its reach to alcohol, sugary drinks, red meat, even how much fuel you can buy.”
Jack Rankin called on the House of Lords to put the legislation on ‘pause’
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FLICKR/ HOUSE OF COMMONSMr Rankin went on to urge the House of Lords to “pause this bill” and examine its “hidden consequences,” warning that Britain’s historic resistance to compulsory ID cards was being “quietly chipped away.”
“The British people have always rejected compulsory ID cards, and for good reason,” the 33-year-old said.
“We are a free country, not a surveillance state. Labour must not be allowed to use a health bill to smuggle in the architecture of a national ID system by stealth.”
Both Tory MPs accused Labour of overreach, warning that the bill masks a broader ambition to link personal data and consumer behaviour through digital verification systems.
Concerns have grown about Digital ID since the Prime Minister made his announcement last month
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The warning about the impact on businesses comes after more than 2.8 million Britons signed a petition opposing Sir Keir’s plan to introduce Digital ID, including more than 3,200 in the Prime Minister’s own seat of Holborn & St Pancras.
The proposal, which is being introduced to stop illegal migrants working in the black economy, would require all working people to carry a Digital ID in the UK, with those not looking to work facing no requirement to hold the documentation.
During his visit to India, Sir Keir met Nandan Nilekani, the non-executive chair of the tech company Infosys, to discuss the rollout of Digital ID in India.
However, Indian officials filed a police complaint in 2018 after personal details had been downloaded and sold online for less than £6.
The Prime Minister is now also being warned that he faces a Labour revolt over the proposal to introduce Digital ID, with one MP accusing No10 of having the “reverse Midas touch”.
The warning about the impact on businesses comes after more than 2.8 million Britons signed a petition opposing Sir Keir’s plan to introduce Digital ID
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PARLIAMENT
A Government spokesman told GB News: “Digital ID will help make it easier for people to access the services they are entitled to and prevent illegal working.
“It will streamline interactions with the state, saving time and cutting frustrating paperwork.
“We will launch a public consultation to ensure the scheme is designed with the best possible input, including robust safeguards to protect people’s data.
“Following this we will introduce legislation which sets out clearly how information can be used to protect people’s data. Privacy and security are integral to the proposals for the scheme, and it will not be used for mass surveillance.”