Saqib Bhatti

Saqib Bhatti

Conservative — Meriden and Solihull East

Speaking in the House of Commons on 8 December 2025

Debate

Digital ID

Contribution

I am going to make some progress, if that is okay. I and others have made the point that digital ID would fundamentally reframe the relationship between the individual and the state. It would turn us into a “papers, please” society. Responsibility for proving that someone was guilty would be shifted away from the state, and individuals would, in essence, be required to prove that they were innocent. I visited Estonia when I was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Tech and the Digital Economy. I saw the system there, and I came away with a conclusion very different from the one that others have reached. The Estonians’ system works for them because they have the Russians on their border.

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