Swinney accused of hypocrisy over Labour’s digital ID plans as Scotland’s ScotAccount parallels emerge

John Swinney was sharply accused of hypocrisy after naming Labour’s proposed digital identity cards as a threat to civil liberties, while Scotland’s government is already pursuing a similar system. In remarks circulated Friday, the First Minister said he opposed a mandatory digital ID scheme that would be rolled out across the United Kingdom by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, and he criticized the naming of Labour’s plan as BritCard, arguing that it would oblige Scots to declare themselves British. Critics, however, pointed to a parallel in Scotland, where the SNP government is developing ScotAccount (formerly Digital Identity Scotland), a scheme that shares many of the same features.

ScotAccount is being piloted on a voluntary basis for a limited set of public services as part of Scotland’s broader effort to create an electronic profile that can verify identity. Ministers have signaled an intention to expand its use, raising concerns among opponents that the system could gradually become mandatory as it is embedded in more areas of public life. The debate over mandatory identity verification has sharpened concerns about civil liberties and data security as governments widen the digital footprint of everyday services.

Scottish Conservative Leader Russell Findlay criticized Swinney, saying his stance amounted to political posturing rather than principle. “Even by John Swinney’s usual standards of political amnesia and brazen hypocrisy, his digital ID posturing is off the charts,” Findlay said. “For him to now attack Sir Keir Starmer is arrant hypocrisy, not a principled stand.” The criticism reflects a broader critique from opposition ranks that the SNP’s long-gestating digital ID project undermines its public opposition to a mandatory UK framework.

Under Labour’s plan, digital ID would become the authoritative proof of identity and residency across the UK. It would include basic personal details such as a person’s name, date of birth, and a photograph, and could become compulsory for work. In a post on X, Swinney said he opposed mandatory digital ID, arguing that people should navigate daily life without such requirements. He also said that by calling it BritCard, the Prime Minister appeared to be pressuring Scots to declare themselves British, a point he framed around national identity.

Nevertheless, reporting in the Scottish Mail on Sunday in April showed that the SNP is already rolling out its own Scottish form of digital ID. ScotAccount collects information about individuals, including photographs and other personal details, with the aim of creating a single centralised form of ID to combat fraud and simplify verification when accessing services—potentially including travel, health care, and benefits. It has already been piloted for a range of services, including criminal record checks, witness appearances in court, licences to sell tobacco and vapes, funeral registrations, and debt management. Earlier this year, the government awarded a private firm more than £1 million to develop a “live service” that it says will be rolled out across a broader spectrum of public services.

Details of how a British ID card would look have not been confirmed, and campaigners have warned that such systems could become vulnerable to hacking and identity theft if not properly protected. Civil liberties group Big Brother Watch argued that digital identity schemes are a magnet for hackers and warned that without a legal right to non-digital ID, such schemes could become compulsory by default.

The Scottish Government has asserted that ScotAccount is not a centralised searchable database of personal information and rejected the notion that it would amount to a compulsory card. A spokesman noted that ScotAccount is not designed to provide a centrally searchable archive and emphasized the government’s opposition to any card that is compulsory to possess or that anyone can demand to see, including digital IDs.

The dispute highlights broader tensions around how digital verification should work in the UK, with different parties proposing varying degrees of mandatory use and different data protections. The SNP argues that ScotAccount is being rolled out across a wide range of public services but stresses that participation remains voluntary and that safeguards exist to prevent a centralized repository of personal information. Critics, however, warn that a gradually expanding digital ID could, in practice, become mandatory as more services rely on the system for access and eligibility.

As the policy debate continues, lawmakers on both sides of the border are watching closely to see how scoping, privacy protections, and technical safeguards will be implemented. The outcome could influence the trajectory of identity verification policy not only in Scotland and the rest of the UK but also in how digital identity questions are framed and debated in other democracies facing similar pressures to modernise citizen verification while protecting civil liberties.