UK to Test Digital ID Scheme with Veteran Card

Published: 17 October 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

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The UK government is set to begin testing its controversial digital ID programme by launching a smartphone-based veteran card for former military personnel. Starting Friday, the new digital credential will be available to 1.8 million veterans, marking the first phase of a wider digital identity rollout.

Currently, the physical veteran card provides access to discounts, charities, and certain public services. The new digital version, however, will serve as a prototype for a future in which citizens can carry government-issued credentials in a single app — known as Gov.uk One Login. Officials said this would eventually include digital driving licences and other official documents by 2027.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has pledged to expand the digital ID system, potentially making it mandatory for proving the right to work in the UK before the end of this parliament. That proposal, however, has been met with significant backlash, including a petition signed by nearly three million people urging the government to scrap the idea.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall defended the initiative, accusing critics of “scaremongering” and insisting the system will not be used to track citizens or centralise personal data. “There will be no pooling of people’s private information into a single, central dataset,” she said, emphasising that the scheme is designed to make access to public services easier, faster, and more secure.

The Royal British Legion, Britain’s leading veterans’ charity, welcomed the move as a “positive development”, saying it could simplify access to benefits for the armed forces community. But some veterans’ groups remain wary. Stephen Kent, media director of Veterans Association UK, said: “We don’t need it. A lot of veterans don’t like the idea of it and don’t want to be used as an experiment.”

The digital veteran card will be encrypted and stored within the Gov.uk One Login app, accessible only through biometric verification such as Face ID or fingerprint recognition. Officials claim it will be safer than carrying physical documents. Each digital credential will be held by its issuing department — such as the Ministry of Defence — without creating a centralised national database, which critics have warned could become a “honeypot for hackers.”

Despite reassurances, opposition parties have criticised the initiative. The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, and SNP all oppose Labour’s digital ID plan. Within Labour itself, MP Richard Burgon has called the system a “threat to civil liberties and data security,” warning that it risks allowing sensitive information to be shared with foreign tech corporations.

Addressing MPs on Monday, Kendall insisted the system “absolutely will not” be outsourced or handed to private companies. She confirmed the infrastructure would be built by the government’s own digital services department, with industry estimates suggesting a setup cost of around £1 billion.

Kendall also ruled out any possibility that the system could track citizens’ locations, spending, or online activity. “At no stage will anyone be required by police to produce a digital ID,” she added, seeking to calm fears that future administrations could weaponise the system.

For now, the digital veteran card remains voluntary. However, the rollout is widely seen as a test case for Britain’s broader ambition to modernise public service access through digital identity. If successful, it could pave the way for a fully integrated, app-based identity ecosystem — or reignite an old debate about surveillance, privacy, and state control.

As the UK steps cautiously into the era of digital identification, veterans will once again find themselves at the front line — not in war, but in the battle over technology, trust, and freedom in a digital age.