{
  "id": 15748999,
  "title": "Whitehall shuts the front door on digital ID but leaves the back open",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/whitehall-shuts-the-front-door-on-digital-id-but-leaves-the-back-open-15748999",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-20T10:45:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register",
    "slug": "the-register",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/public-sector/2026/10/20/whitehall-shuts-the-front-door-on-digital-id-but-leaves-the-back-open/5304100"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The British government's national digital ID scheme has been abandoned, but its infrastructure appears to remain operational. Despite scrapping the controversial plans, officials have informed MPs that work continues on GOV.UK One Login, digital wallets, and digital credentials designed to verify identities. This came after the scheme, once a flagship policy of Keir Starmer, was deemed too invasive by privacy campaigners. However, officials clarified that the scrapped national scheme and the ongoing digital identity projects are not the same. They highlighted that One Login already enables online identity verification, distinct from a national digital identity strategy. Officials also revealed that over 80 document types, such as driving test certificates and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificates, are slated for the government's digital wallet. Plans are underway to test digital credentials with private sector businesses, enabling uses like verifying age in pubs or online identity verification for parcel collection. While privacy concerns persist, officials maintain that consent is the model for sharing information within digital services. However, questions remain about how government departments can already share data without consent, aligning with their promised consent-based approach.",
  "summary": "Ministers may have scrapped the national scheme, but One Login, digital wallets and 80-plus planned credentials are still very much alive",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}