Government responds to petition signed by 2 million against introduction of BritCard digital ID

The UK government has responded to a petition against the introduction of digital ID cards, which had been signed by two million people.

Last week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that all working-age Brits would soon be expected to have a digital ID card downloaded on their phone.

Dubbed the 'BritCard', Starmer said the scheme was being introduced as part of a government clampdown on illegal immigration, with possession of a card being mandatory for living and working in the country.

"This government will make a new free-of-charge digital ID mandatory for the right to work by the end of this parliament," Starmer said of the plans. "You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have a digital ID. It's as simple as that."

Unfortunately for the Labour government, the announcement was not a welcome one, with hundreds of thousands of royally cheesed-off Brits all signing a petition to express their opposition to the move within hours.

Keir Starmer confirmed the scheme last week (Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

A whopping 2.7 million people have since signed the petition, meaning the government is required to debate the topic in parliament as well as offer an official response.

The latter is now here, and the government has made it clear that it is not backing down on the proposal.

"We will introduce a digital ID within this Parliament to help tackle illegal migration, make accessing government services easier, and enable wider efficiencies," the response begins. "We will consult on details soon."

In a longer statement below, the government states that it is committed to making the 'everyday lives' of Brits 'easier and more secure', as well as exploring ways in which government services can be modernised.

"Currently, when UK citizens and residents use public services, start a new job, or, for example, buy alcohol, they often need to present an assortment of physical documents to prove who they are or things about themselves," the response continues.

The cards will be introduced before the end of this parliament (Tony Blair Institute)

"This is both bureaucratic for the individual and creates space for abuse and fraud.

"To tackle these interlinked issues, we will introduce a new national digital ID. This is not a card but a new digital identity that will be available for free to all UK citizens and legal residents aged 16 and over."

The response also says that it will not be a 'criminal offence' not to have an ID; however, the digital document will be 'mandatory' for certain applications.

You can read the full statement here.

However, it's unlikely that the response will do much to ease the minds of those firmly against the ID scheme, with several people already scheming about loopholes to get around the introduction.