Government plans to launch digital versions of UK Government-issued IDs such as driving licences have been slammed by privacy campaigners as creating a ‘honeypot for hackers’.

The plans, announced yesterday by science and technology secretary Peter Kyle, will see official identity papers made available in a new GOV.UK Wallet app.

Starting out with a UK Armed Forces Veterans Card, ministers plan to have driving licences available in the app before the end of the year – putting an end to taking out your wallet or purse to prove your age in shops.

By 2027, ministers want all Government-issued ID cards available in the app where practical, locked behind biometric data such as facial recognition – and unlocked in the same way as when paying using Apple Pay or Google Pay on a phone.

But privacy campaigners say the plan has echoes of Tony Blair’s failed attempt to introduce ID cards in the last Labour government – and could expose Brits’ most sensitive information to hackers.

Silkie Carlo, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said the digital ID system risked being ‘all-encompassing’, bringing together ‘a huge amount of information’ and creating a ‘nightmare database state’.

‘It has the hallmarks of the nightmare database state envisaged with Blair’s failed ID card system, only in mobile, digital form,’ she said.

‘The addition of our facial recognition data makes this sprawling identity system incredibly sensitive, intrusive and a honeypot for hackers.

‘The Government should modernise and give people digital options with identity documents, but this approach risks actually narrowing our choices and control over our own data.’

Announcing the app on Tuesday, Mr Kyle said that using the GOV.UK Wallet app would not be compulsory, and people would still be able to use physical documents instead if they preferred.

But Ms Carlo said the right to use physical identity papers was not enshrined in law – and warned that it could be revoked at any time without notice. 

She added: ‘Despite our campaign, the Government is inexplicably refusing to legally protect the right to use non-digital ID, and hasn’t set out whether we can control how much of our sensitive information will be available via this wallet.

‘Without such basic protections, this smacks of a mandatory ID system in all but name, disadvantaging the millions of people in this country who rely on physical documents and letters, and cannot or choose not to use digital identity systems.’

Charlie Whelton, policy and campaigns officer at Liberty, said digital IDs excluded the elderly and the vulnerable – and should never become mandatory.

‘Digital ID may make certain interactions with the state more convenient for many, but it could result in unintended consequences,’ he said.

‘Digital ID is not accessible for all, and so threatens to make it harder for some people to access vital public services like housing or healthcare, if the scheme is expanded as has been suggested.

‘This could have a huge impact on the most vulnerable in society, from the elderly to those unable to regularly afford data for their phones. There are also clear privacy risks associated with having our data held online, whether by the Home Office or by private companies.

‘There are countless examples of our personal data falling into the wrong hands or being secretly shared with third parties without our consent.

‘Digital ID might be branded as a voluntary convenience, but there sits an ever-present risk that it becomes effectively compulsory. 

‘Our personal data is sensitive and valuable to us. It is vital that physical ID and documentation remains available for all.’

The adoption of a digital ID card policy stops short of that advocated for by Sir Tony Blair during his time in Government.

Sir Tony had sought to roll out universal identity cards for accessing Government services – but the plans were binned by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition. 

Nevertheless, Sir Tony Blair has continued advocating for them, claiming they could be used to properly monitor and control immigration in digital form.

The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said last year of the proposal for a universal ID card: ‘That’s not our approach.’

And government sources told MailOnline today that the launch of digital driving licences and passports was not a move towards universal ID cards.

‘Nothing about GOV.UK Wallet will be mandatory,’ a source said. 

The plans come as other countries begin to introduce digital IDs including driving licences and passports. 

Finland became the first country in the world to issue digital passports in 2023, piloted on Finnair flights between Helsinki and the UK. The European Commission unveiled plans for digital passports in the Schengen travel area last year.

Some countries also offer digital driving licences, including Australia, Denmark, Iceland and Norway, and a handful of states in the US.

In November, the government also tabled legislation for digital identities – which could make processes like getting bank accounts much easier and secure.

But Derek Gordon, a digital identity expert at NCC Group, said the push to carry digital information on a smartphone app was a security risk – and another way for cybercriminals to steal personal details.

‘Assessing digital identification is a very positive step from the UK government considering how the world is digitalising at pace and the wider adoption across other countries,’ he said.

‘However, there are inherent security risks that must be addressed.

‘Whilst you can lose your physical driver’s license anywhere, having it on your phone creates another access point for cyber criminals to carry out a targeted attack on your personal information.’

The GOV.UK Wallet will, in theory, make it easy to access any government-issued paperwork including DBS checks, as well as driving licences.

Mr Kyle has said ‘nothing is off the table’ when it comes to identity documents – hinting that they could be used to carry asylum and immigration documentation.

‘You will be able to prove and verify your age digitally using the digital driving licence. And this is going to be absolutely liberating,’ he said at a launch event at the Government Digital Service in Whitechapel. 

He reportedly swapped a suit and tie for a casual jacket, t-shirt and jeans to launch the plans – in the style of a tech guru unveiling a new smartphone or app – and said he wanted to make carrying digital IDs ‘desirable’.

The app could even be used to verify someone’s age when buying restricted products such as fireworks online – pertinent after it emerged Southport killer Axel Rudakubana bought the knife he used to kill three children from Amazon. 

In comments reported by The Times, he said: ‘We don’t have a current work plan to get the digital wallet specifically for asylum processes, because every asylum seeker currently has to give biometric data and thumbprints and so forth and carry a card when they’re here. 

‘But we’re just in the foothills of this. Every government department is actively exploring how the frameworks that we are putting out here today could be harnessed for the public service users out there. 

‘So nothing is off the table when we have these conversations.’ 

In future, ministers want to see Brits travelling abroad and doing everything they need to at the airport on their phones – no more scurrying about at the last second for passports.

Digital IDs are already available in some forms in the UK. Identity app Yoti, for instance, is Government approved – and its digital ID is accepted as proof of age and identity at Post Offices and Lloyds Bank. 

‘Along with CDs, the Walkman and flip phones, the overflowing drawer rammed with letters from the government and hours spent on hold to get a basic appointment will soon be consigned to history,’ Mr Kyle said in a statement.

‘GOV.UK Wallet will mean that every letter or identity document you receive from the government could be issued to you virtually.

‘For people who choose to use GOV.UK Wallet, they will find it easier to prove they’re entitled to benefits or check their age when buying alcohol or DIY equipment, with more security and trust than ever before.

‘Crucially, it also opens huge opportunities to make interacting with public services much easier by putting people in control of their own data.

‘We will be overhauling how the public sector uses technology which is essential to delivering our Plan for Change, and in combination with this new tech for people to use themselves, we are going to slash the time people waste dealing with annoying processes so they can focus on what matters to them.’

The Government said they hope the app will also make using services – like applying for childcare or reporting a lost passport – far easier.

It will also allow digital credentials to be accessed immediately following a successful application, rather than waiting for them to arrive in the post. 

In addition, it will help to avoid valuable documents being lost in house moves or behind filing cabinets.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: ‘This is a game changer for the millions of people who use their driving licence as ID. 

‘The innovation puts power back in the hands of the people, making everyday interactions faster, easier, and more secure.’

The digital update comes alongside plans announced to make £45 billion in efficiency savings by using digital tools and data to upgrade public services, including introducing AI tools to the Civil Service to speed up work in Whitehall.

Joined-up working in the Government could even see benefit cheats banned from driving if they repeatedly fail to pay back cash to the taxpayer in an attempt to stamp out benefit fraud.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will also be able to recover money directly from fraudsters’ bank accounts, in what has been dubbed the biggest fraud crackdown in a generation.

The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, which would put the measures into law, is due to be introduced in Parliament on Wednesday. It will help save the taxpayer £1.5 billion over the next five years, the DWP estimates.

Once the Bill is made law, benefit cheats could be disqualified from driving for up to two years if they refuse to repay money they owe.

Courts could suspend fraudsters’ driving licences following application by the DWP, if they owe welfare debts of more than £1,000 and have ignored repeated requests to pay it back.