Thousands of people march through London to protest digital ID plans

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of central London to show their opposition to digital ID plans.

Under heavy police conditions, demonstrators chanted and waved banners along the route from Marble Arch to Whitehall on Saturday afternoon.

The Prime Minister announced in September that a digital ID system would be introduced by 2029 and would be mandatory for people working in the UK as part of efforts to tackle illegal migration.

Former Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen walked at the front of the parade.

A protest ad on the website of Mass Non-Compliance organizers says “if you accept a digital ID now, it may be the last choice you ever make.”

The Metropolitan Police told demonstrators not to deviate from their pre-planned route, and to stay on the left side of the road.

Plans to roll out digital IDs have come under criticism.

Former Conservative minister Sir David Davis, who campaigned against the introduction of the technology during Sir Tony Blair’s Labor government, said: “While digital IDs and ID cards sound like a modern and efficient solution to problems such as illegal immigration, such claims are misleading at best.

“The systems involved are extremely dangerous to the privacy and fundamental freedoms of the British people.”

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch rejected the plans as “a ruse that won’t stop the boats”.

British reform leader Nigel Farage also said he was “strongly opposed”.

The Liberal Democrats said they would not support a digital identity mandate where people are “forced to hand over their personal data just to go about their daily lives”.

By George Lithgow, PA