The American writer Mike Godwin coined what’s now called “Godwin’s Law”. It states that “as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches”.
Godwin’s Law is probably approaching as the British government discusses whether a “digital identity number” should be compulsory for British citizens. Every time the subject of identity cards or similar ID questions are raised in the country, opponents suggest we are on the road to a police state. Nazi-like officials will demand our ID papers or else.
The truth is that every British adult already has various IDs, including a National Insurance number. The government website says “you’ll usually get a letter confirming your NI number shortly before your 16th birthday”. It gives as an example the entirely made-up National Insurance number “QQ123456B”, but you get the point.
A valid number allows the government to check whether you pay tax. Foreigners qualify if they live legally in the UK, have the right to work and are working, looking for work or have an offer to start work.
As a citizen, I also have a passport number, a driving licence number (with photo ID), a National Health Service number and countless other numbers that I don’t remember yet I need for various agencies. I write them down because no one can remember them all. A “digital ID” might change that. But historically British people do not have identity cards, and the “digital ID” possibility reopens all those old arguments about Britain on the road to becoming some kind of police state.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is moving cautiously, but if it happens – and this time I think it might – the “digital ID” concept will probably be sold to the British public as a way to check on illegal migrants.
A digital ID could also make it easier to book healthcare appointments, obtain welfare payments, local authority housing, tax refunds or other benefits. Right now, the British government bureaucracy is multi-layered, often incoherent and difficult to penetrate.
Critics of digital ID seem to overlook the fact that businesses already have our “digital IDs”, and the British state also has plenty of ways of tracking down citizens through those National Insurance numbers, passports and all those other kinds of information that as citizens we find so difficult to remember.
In the 1990s, then-prime minister Tony Blair’s government abandoned the identity cards idea after a great deal of opposition. Nevertheless, this time some government ministers are reported to be very enthusiastic.
Wes Streeting, the minister in charge of the great behemoth that is the National Health Service, appears to be a supporter. This is because a digital ID would potentially unlock a “health passport” to ensure that every health practitioner – from dentists and doctors to specialists of various kinds – would in theory be able to find the key information about patients very rapidly. Patients may be able to navigate the healthcare bureaucracy more easily, too.
Nevertheless, the Starmer government appears desperate not to call any streamlined digital identification “identity papers” or any such inflammatory term. There are obvious challenges, too. Some elderly people, or those who cannot afford mobile phones or similar devices, may find accessing any digital ID services difficult.
But the political sales pitch from the UK government’s point of view is obvious. A digital ID, the government political spokesmen and women will say, could make the vast government bureaucracy easier to navigate for all of us who legally live and work here.
The Starmer government appears desperate not to call any streamlined digital identification “identity papers” or any such inflammatory term
At the same time, it will exclude those who arrive illegally or who are refused permission to stay and work. Right now, any initiative that can be sold to the British public about making immigration control much easier would be a boost for the government, since record figures for those arriving on small boats from France are among the Prime Minister’s biggest headaches.
Under the system being considered, it is assumed that anyone without a digital number will be almost impossible to employ regularly, excluded from the benefits any British citizen can expect, will be easier to trace, and undesirables will be easier to remove. That’s why a digital ID system seems to me to be likely and quite possibly will become inevitable, whatever the critics might say.
There are examples of political changes, once criticised as the “Big Brother” interfering in our lives, that were introduced after a row – and are now taken for granted. The introduction of compulsory seat belts in cars, for example, or breathalyser tests for drivers who drink too much alcohol and the banning of smoking in areas of Britain were all attacked as “Nanny State” intrusions of our supposed personal freedoms. These laws are now simply part of our daily lives.
A convenient ID number will, I suspect, be announced in a year or two, provoking a storm of very British outrage from some, but quietly welcomed by most. Then after a year or two, just like the seat belts controversy, we will all wonder why we didn’t do it quicker.
'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
Sunday's games
Liverpool v West Ham United, 4.30pm (UAE)
Southampton v Burnley, 4.30pm
Arsenal v Manchester City, 7pm
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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RESULTS
Bantamweight
Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK)
(Split decision)
Featherweight
Hussein Salim (IRQ) beat Shakhriyor Juraev (UZB)
(Round 1 submission, armbar)
Catchweight 80kg
Rashed Dawood (UAE) beat Otabek Kadirov (UZB)
(Round-1 submission, rear naked choke)
Lightweight
Ho Taek-oh (KOR) beat Ronald Girones (CUB)
(Round 3 submission, triangle choke)
Lightweight
Arthur Zaynukov (RUS) beat Damien Lapilus (FRA)
(Unanimous points)
Bantamweight
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (RUS)
(Round 1 TKO)
Featherweight
Movlid Khaybulaev (RUS) v Zaka Fatullazade (AZE)
(Round 1 rear naked choke)
Flyweight
Shannon Ross (TUR) beat Donovon Freelow (USA)
(Unanimous decision)
Lightweight
Dan Collins (GBR) beat Mohammad Yahya (UAE)
(Round 2 submission D’arce choke)
Catchweight 73kg
Martun Mezhulmyan (ARM) beat Islam Mamedov (RUS)
(Round 3 submission, kneebar)
Bantamweight world title
Xavier Alaoui (MAR) beat Jaures Dea (CAM)
(Unanimous points 48-46, 49-45, 49-45)
Flyweight world title
Manon Fiorot (FRA) v Gabriela Campo (ARG)
(Round 1 RSC)
Results
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Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”
Jimmy Duddy, nephew of John Johnson
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Sukuk
An Islamic bond structured in a way to generate returns without violating Sharia strictures on prohibition of interest.
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