NORTH Cornwall’s MP has spoken out against the government’s proposed Digital ID scheme.

At the end of September, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced hat a new ID system would be introduced in 2029 and would be mandatory for people working in the UK as part of a bid to tackle illegal migration.

The photographic IDs would be stored on smartphones in a similar way to digital bank cards and would contain information on the holder’s name, residency status, date of birth and nationality.

However, following the announcement, North Cornwall’s MP, Ben Maguire has been outspoken about his concerns surrounding the scheme. Now, he has taken his concerns direct to the government, speaking against the new ID’s in Parliament.

Speaking during an urgent statement in the House of Commons, the MP said his North Cornwall constituents had been “crystal clear” that they do not want a mandatory digital identity system imposed on them.

He also highlighted that the estimated rollout cost of the scheme, which could be between £1-billion and £2-billion, would “completely dwarf” the savings Ministers claim will be made by other controversial measures, such as the government's changes to inheritance tax announced last year.

During the urgent question session, he said: "My constituents have been crystal clear with me: they do not want a mandatory digital ID forced upon them. It would mark a clear erosion of their civil liberties and, let's face it, the Government’s track record on data security is poor to say the least.

"Many in my constituency do not have phone signal or Wi-Fi, and rolling out digital ID is set to cost between £1-billion and £2-billion - four times what the government plans to save with the family farm tax.

"Please, Minister, learn the lessons from the welfare bill, listen to your back benchers and do not waste this colossal amount of taxpayers’ money."