{"id":31460,"date":"2023-02-24T13:44:11","date_gmt":"2023-02-24T13:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/?p=31460"},"modified":"2025-09-30T19:49:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T18:49:10","slug":"digital-identity-consultation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/digital-identity-consultation\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Identity Consultation: Respond!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"<\/a>
Alex Burghart MP, Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Government have launched a Consultation on Digital Identity. The deadline to respond is Wednesday 1st March 2023. They want to bring under one digital roof all our identity details at present held by different departments.<\/p>\n

They are presenting this move as benign. However, the government departments holding our personal data will also include county councils and outside organisations working for public authorities. What could possibly go wrong?<\/p>\n

We can’t do this work without your prayers and your support:
\nSupport Christian Voice \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n

The role of Government<\/h2>\n

\u2018Data sharing\u2019 could begin in December 2023. But before we look at how to respond, what does the Bible say about personal data, privacy, truthfulness and the role of government?<\/p>\n

Biblically, Government is there to maintain peace and security according to God\u2019s laws and to promote prosperity. It is there to serve the people, not the elite, according to our Lord\u2019s own command. Whether those in power recognise they are there to improve the lives of the people of the UK is a moot point. But Christian Voice – and you – are here to tell them. You can read more on this subject in our previous articles (on a desktop or laptop they all open automatically in a new tab, for a mobile you may have to hold and hover):<\/p>\n

The Purpose of Government \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n

The Purpose of Monarchy \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n

A King for the People? \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n

On top of all that, government is not to lie, \u2018spin\u2019 or \u2018nudge\u2019:
\nExodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. … 23:1 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.<\/b><\/p>\n

Furthermore, the individual is a created being, made in the image of God:
\nGenesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Psalmist speaks of liberty as a good thing to have:
\nPsalm 119:45 And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As does the Apostle Paul:
\n2Cor 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.<\/strong><\/p>\n

God\u2019s Social Institutions<\/h2>\n

Indeed the individual created in Gen 1:27 is God\u2019s first social institution. He or she is followed in Gen 2:24 by the family, in Gen 4:26 by the church (or organised worship), and then in Gen 9 by the nation state with the functions given above.<\/p>\n

We read of king David\u2019s attempt to gather personal information about his people in two places in Scripture:<\/p>\n

2Sam 24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
\n1Chron 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.<\/b><\/p>\n

There appears to be room there to discuss<\/b><\/a> whether God moved David or permitted Satan to provoke David.\u00a0 Suffice to say it was a bad thing to do and brought judgment on the people of Israel.<\/p>\n

The Consultation<\/h2>\n

The Consultation itself is HERE<\/b><\/a>. We note firstly the short consultation period. It started in January 2023 and ends on 1st March 2023 at midnight (we assume). There has been no debate, no discussion. You may not even have heard of it had we not told you.<\/p>\n

The Government Minister, Alex Burghart MP, Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, presents his proposal as more convenient and thoroughly beneficial to us the people. But could it be rather more beneficial to government to have all the information they hold about us in one place?<\/p>\n

The drive for centralised ID may tie in to the call from Tony Blair and William Hague for a digital ID card, reported HERE<\/strong><\/a> by the Institution of Science & Technology.\u00a0 But what does Mr Blair even mean by ‘People already live their lives digitally’?\u00a0 OK, even some of us who still pay cash may have digital gadgets, a mobile phone, a laptop, even a ‘smart speaker’.\u00a0 So what?\u00a0 Not even Tony Blair will be eating his steak or drinking his fine wine ‘digitally’.<\/p>\n

Scope for hacks, leaks and malice<\/h2>\n

Scroll down in the Consultation<\/b><\/a> to (or do a Ctrl-F search for) \u2018Annex 4\u2019 to find the list of departments who will share data. Many of us will know about logging in to the HMRC, but anything you ever said to the Home Office or the Land Registry will be brought together and shared with county, district, community or London borough councils, with the Welsh and Scottish Governments, the Cabinet Office and \u2018An organisation (for Scotland and Wales \u2018a person\u2019) providing services to a specified public authority\u2019. Who are these?\u00a0 They are not even named.\u00a0 Altogether, quite apart from all the councils and outside organisations and ‘person’s, no fewer than seventeen government departments are listed.\u00a0 The scope for hacking, errors and leaks of people\u2019s data is enormous.\u00a0 And that is even if you, dear reader, trust them not to abuse your data in the first place.<\/p>\n

We raise this because the departments also include the Ministry of Defence. It was their 77th Brigade which spied on lockdown sceptics during \u2018the pandemic\u2019, seeking out those who told the truth (aka \u2018spread misinformation\u2019) on social media. Also involved in that exercise was the Counter Disinformation Unit of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. See Big Brother Watch HERE<\/b><\/a>. The DfDCM&S is one of the seventeen and will also share the information it holds on us with the rest of the government machine.<\/p>\n

We may think it too much of a stretch to imagine a government department withholding services or benefits (however you define those) from those holding the wrong opinions. But that is what they thought in Canada. There, as even the BBC reported<\/b><\/a>, the government told banks to freeze the accounts of anti-lockdown protesters. So there is scope for reprisals against those who do not toe the official line.<\/p>\n

(P.S. Couldn’t happen here? In May 2025, a tweet about anti-Semitism landed a pensioner in a police cell. Coppers from Kent Police turned up at his house in Gillingham<\/strong><\/a> and handcuffed him. Bodycam footage from the raid reveals one expressing alarm at \u2018very Brexity things\u2019 on his bookshelf. They carted Julian Foulkes off to a police cell, held him for eight hours and interrogated him on suspicion of sending a \u2018malicious communication\u2019. The affair illustrates perfectly the kind of anti-establishment materials the authorities can view as suspicious.)<\/p>\n

How to Respond<\/h2>\n

You can either complete the Online Questionnaire HERE<\/b><\/a> or email your response to dea-data-sharing@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk<\/a><\/strong>. Either way the Cabinet Office will have your name and email address and your response!<\/p>\n

You might wish to respond to the questions in the following manner. Answer how your feel led, but note how almost every question assumes the outcome. You are led by the questions to go along with the idea that this is all benign and uncontroversial. You will note that every question asks you to give a reason for your response. One veteran of answering government questionnaires suggests you use this as an opportunity:<\/p>\n

He says<\/strong>: \u2018The trick is to add comments to the \u201cplease give the reason for your answer\u201d box; EVERY comment should start with \u201cI strongly disagree with the introduction of combined digital identity verification as it infringes every person\u2019s right to privacy and freedom; the data to be shared will be exposed to hacking, abuse and errors which will negatively impact our daily lives and ability to be free individuals; \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.\u201d (the specific justification for each answer is then added to the end).\u00a0 When the standard text has been typed once, it can be copied and pasted with the final relevant bit for each question added at the end of it.\u2019<\/p>\n

(P.P.S. Sept 2025: The proposal was shelved. An earlier attempt in 2006 actually resulted in an act of parliament<\/strong><\/a> which was later repealed.)<\/p>\n

PRAY<\/b>: Pray the Lord will raise up a good response from those who will speak truth to those in power. Pray for freedom under God to win through.\u00a0 Pray for the fear of God, for humility and wisdom for those who lead us.\u00a0 Or pray the Lord will replace them with men after his own heart.<\/p>\n

PLEASE feel free to leave a comment below. You have to log in to do that.\u00a0 Many news websites these days ask for a financial contribution before you may comment.\u00a0 We are not doing that, yet (!) but still welcome your support:<\/p>\n

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Government Consultation on Digital Identity. Deadline 1st March 2023. They want to combine all our digital identity details. What could possibly go wrong?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[184],"tags":[15,4948,43],"class_list":["post-31460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk-christian-constitution","tag-christian-voice","tag-digital-identity-consultation","tag-stephen-green"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t