Former Southampton and England forward Matt Le Tissier has posted a strong response on X to Keir Starmer’s controversial UK digital ID plan. According to senior government officials cited by the BBC, the prime minister believes the scheme will help crack down on illegal working and modernise the state.
Reports suggest the government intends to use the system to verify people’s right to live and work in the UK, with individual IDs checked against a central database. The proposal did not appear in Labour’s election manifesto last year, and a similar plan was previously rejected when former Labour Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair put it forward.
In recent weeks, however, ministers have spoken with growing enthusiasm about the idea as pressure mounts on the government to address illegal migration. And, as with most political issues, the proposal, which is expected to be confirmed today, has sparked plenty of debate – with Le Tissier now weighing in.
Matt Le Tissier Reacts To Starmer’s Digital ID Plans
Far removed from his playing career, Le Tissier, now 56, can often be seen online talking politics. Not so long ago, he chimed in on the Charlie Kirk debate and used his platform to promote free speech, which has been a hot topic in recent weeks. On Thursday night, he turned his attention to the UK government’s digital ID plans.
On social media, conspiracy theories abound, with some claiming the new scheme is a step toward government control and mass surveillance, while others raise broader privacy concerns. In his post on X, Le Tissier suggested he had previously dismissed such concerns but is now beginning to reconsider. He wrote (see his post below):
“Looks like those damn conspiracy theorists were right again about the digital ID. They’ve been right so many times I might start listening to them.”
The retired forward, who featured eight times for England between 1994 and 1997, then went a step further by sharing a petition that aimed at making the UK government reconsider its latest scheme. On the petition’s page, titled ‘Do not introduce Digital ID cards’, the description read:
“We demand that the UK Government immediately commits to not introducing a digital ID cards. We think this would be a step towards mass surveillance and digital control, and that no one should be forced to register with a state-controlled ID system. We oppose the creation of any national ID system.”
For parliament to debate the topic, the petition required 100,000 votes. Now with closer to 600,000 signatures at the time of writing, it remains to be seen what will come of the heavily-debated new scheme.