Debate contribution: Digital ID Scheme: Opposition

Debate contribution by Mr Paul Frew on 11 November 2025.

MLA

Mr Paul Frew

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

11 November 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Digital ID Scheme: Opposition

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5349532

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank the Member for his contribution and his Eurosceptic tendencies. However, there is one weakness in the motion: what about the workers from the Republic of Ireland who work in GB? They will get the digital ID card — or the BritCard, if they call it that. Sinn Féin has completely failed and discarded the people of the Republic of Ireland in its motion, whereas we are fighting for all the people who work in the United Kingdom, even citizens of the Republic of Ireland. Sinn Féin has completely forgotten about the Irish people, and that is because it is so hung up on this. It is the most British thing to do to oppose digital ID. It is the most British thing to do to oppose mandatory ID of any form, because the British people have never suffered or accepted it, and nor should they ever accept it. This scheme is a so-called solution that is trying to find a problem, and the Government just happened to select the number-one issue that has vexed so many British minds of late: immigration. Do not be fooled: illegal immigration and illegal working are totally unacceptable, and the issues need to be resolved immediately. They need to be resolved across the UK, and that includes Northern Ireland, but this scheme will not do that. It is not even designed to do that. The scheme is state overreach, and, as is always the case, it is about making people a lot of money. We do not need to give over 70 million people a digital ID to stop 0·05% of that number from arriving illegally. We already have a visa system that displays people's right to work, but it is not even enforced. If employers do not check visas, why would they check digital ID? A digital form of ID is not a harmless card in your hip pocket that can be shown to a person in authority. The British people have baulked at such a proposition, even in the worst of times. Such measures can and have been used, even in recent history, to coerce people into a position that they did not wish to be in. They enable the Government to widen the scope to cover all other matters and control what people can and cannot do. That is what vaccine certification did during the pandemic. It is worth noting that the motion has been tabled by Sinn Féin, the party that, along with the Alliance Party, the SDLP and the UUP, was a passionate advocate for digital certification for COVID vaccinations. It did not care about personal rights or privacy then, so what has changed? I warned at the time that that was a precursor to digital ID, and I am glad that all the other parties have rowed in behind me on that serious matter. The Government could easily change the scope and conditions of every sphere of life because of the digital nature of the ID, and we would have no say in it and no choice but to comply. They have already done exactly that, as the Prime Minister stated on his social media page. That shows footage of him talking about digital ID to customers in Barclays bank, of all places. He tells them that the digital ID will contain their basic information. He then says a peculiar thing:

"For everything other than proving you've got a right to work, it won't be mandatory."

Really? Does he think that we are stupid? Needing it in order to work is a pretty big deal, so, if digital ID is mandatory for that, it is, basically, mandatory for everyone of working age. He goes on:

"You don't have to have it, but ... You can use it for anything that requires identification, and there are lots of things. If you want to rent, for example, if you want to apply for a mortgage. If you want to get your child into primary school, and there is a catchment area, and you've got to show where you live, proving who you are, what your date of birth is, it will just be able to be done with digital ID."

He then looks towards the camera — a bit like Big Brother, just softer and gentler — and says:

"They're really up for it, I think once you understand just how much easier it'll make life, so many more people will be too."

Enforcing a digital ID scheme raises serious concerns about the protection of an individual's private data in a world where cybersecurity is becoming ever more threatened. Forcing people to store personal information, all in one place, in the form of a digital ID would be deeply unwise. The first question in the debate should not be what it is called — BritCard or otherwise — but why the state is making it mandatory. Why are they enforcing it? If it is such a great idea, make it voluntary. The state should not force people to do anything that could put them and their private information in jeopardy. I hear people out there say, "But I have a digital wallet for all sorts of services on my phone: I hand over personal information all the time, and it makes my life so handy". We give data to private organisations, but they cannot compel us to do so: we have a choice. We can choose whom we give our personal data to, whether that be an organisation, a business or a private entity. Only the Government of the day can pass laws to control people's lives and actions and use a digital ID to make us comply. It is worth noting that many Members on the other side of the Chamber were happy to cheer the arrival of the new Labour Government. As a party, we will always stand up for the rights of people in Northern Ireland. Whether that be through our Minister rightly restoring the winter fuel payment to our pensioners or our principled stand against the unfair tax on family farms, the DUP will continue to fight on issues relating to schemes such as the digital ID that are not in the best interests of people in Northern Ireland or across the UK. Included in that are the Irish people from the Republic of Ireland who go to GB to work whom Sinn Féin has forgotten about. We will not forget about those people; we will fight for those people. It is not right for the British Government or any Government or state to impose digital ID on any one of their citizens, no matter who they are. This is fascinating: I have spoken about digital wallets and other such things, and you would think that young people would be OK with this.

However, it is very clear from the LucidTalk poll that 80% of people aged between 18 and 34 — I fall just outside that bracket — are totally opposed to digital ID. Surely that speaks volumes. In my age range, which is 45 to 54 — I fall just inside that category — it is also 80%. I am proud to say that those are the two groups that have highest resistance to digital ID. It is a non-runner. It is an absolute no-brainer to resist digital ID, given all the dangers that it would bring not only to our freedoms but to our personal information, which could fall into the hands of all sorts of unscrupulous people, including the current Prime Minister.

1,261 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:38 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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