A PETITION to stop the UK Government’s plans to roll out compulsory digital identity cards has hit 1 million signatures.
On Thursday, the Labour Government's plans for digital IDs to be made law for all UK adults were first revealed.
On Friday, Keir Starmer confirmed the UK Government's plans to bring in compulsory digital IDs in a move which will ignite a major debate on civil liberties.
A petition against the policy, first launched in June by Maxim Sutcliff, had reached 288,087 signatures as of 9pm on Thursday when The National first reported on it.
However, shortly before 3pm on Friday, the petition, titled “Do not introduce Digital ID cards”, had hit one million signatures.
The milestone is well beyond the 100,000 signatures required to be considered for debate.
The online description for the petition states: "We demand that the UK Government immediately commits to not introducing digital ID cards. There are reports that this is being looked at.
“We think this would be a step towards mass surveillance and digital control, and that no one should be forced to register with a state-controlled ID system. We oppose the creation of any national ID system.
“ID cards were scrapped in 2010, in our view for good reason.”
The plans have already sparked fierce criticism, with opponents lined up against the scheme on all sides of the political spectrum, including within the Labour Party.
After the plans were briefed to parts of the media on Thursday, the Scottish Government said: "The Scottish Government is opposed to the introduction of any card that is compulsory to have, compulsory to carry or that anyone can demand to see, including that of a digital ID.”
Labour left-wingers such as Ian Byrne and Richard Burgon have also already spoken out against the plans, while former Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, called them an "affront to our civil liberties".
