Digital veteran cards could be ‘case study’ for ID rollout, says minister

The launch of digital veteran cards could serve as a “case study” for how such credentials work and alleviate public concerns over the Government’s plans to bring in mandatory IDs, a minister has said.

Like the existing physical counterpart, the digital veteran card being launched on Friday is optional and aims to give those who have served in the military a quicker way to prove their status more easily to get access to services they are entitled to.

However, the proposed digital IDs announced by Sir Keir Starmer last month would be mandatory for anyone working in the UK as part of efforts to clamp down on illegal working.

Concerns have been raised about potential infringements on civil liberties and data protection issues as well as the cost of setting up and maintaining a system of digital IDs.

Ian Murray, minister for digital government, acknowledged that the rollout of digital cards for veterans could demonstrate to the public how the credentials work and put to bed some of their fears.

The Labour MP for Edinburgh South said: “(It’s) probably a demonstration to the public by default, in that sense, on the basis that this is the first use case for having a digital credential on your smartphone, and that digital credential is the first sort of verifiable one that government have now launched.

“So using a closed group like the 300,000 veterans is a really good case study to show that it does work.

“And it will be very beneficial, it shows the technology works, that shows that we can prove and dispense with some of those legitimate concerns around privacy and security and those kinds of issues.”

But the purpose of the veteran card is not to be a test run for digital IDs, he said.

“The launch of this card is about making the lives of veterans easier, to access government services and the benefits of that card, rather than being about demonstrating the much wider issues that you talk about… in terms of digital ID,” he said.

The veteran card is the first digital document to be stored in the One Login app the Government has been developing.

It is also planning to launch digital driving licences.