Overview

• Prime Minister Keir Starmer has initiated a detailed feasibility study, code-named Operation Kelp, to explore a universal mandatory digital ID system.
• Senior ministers including Peter Kyle, Pat McFadden, and Wes Streeting back the proposal, and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has withdrawn her principled opposition.
• The review will assess technical resilience, privacy safeguards, and provisions for individuals without digital access.
• Big Brother Watch and other civil liberties groups caution that a mandatory ID could centralize sensitive data, heighten cybersecurity threats, and marginalize vulnerable populations.
• The government has already introduced voluntary digital tools such as the NHS app, a forthcoming digital driving licence, age-verification services, and eVisas for overseas nationals but has not committed to a universal scheme.