Daniel Masters

In 1830, a pamphleteer expressed concern about the sudden appearance of ‘Raw Lobsters’ on the streets of London. These lobsters were, of course, not an alien invasion. Rather, they were Robert Peel’s New Police, established in London in 1829. The police had a blue uniform, the same colour as raw lobsters, but the pamphleteer worried that, when put under pressure, their uniforms would turn red like that of the red coat soldiers of their day. It was feared, as another petitioner put it that same year, that they might ‘crush the liberties of the people’. The use of Facial Recognition Cameras further distances officers from us and places the law in their pockets There is nothing close to the same suspicion in our day, especially towards the police using technology.

A North Korean escapee recently told me about the ‘slavery cards’ he and his fellow countrymen were forced to carry. These cards allowed the state to know everything about you; they could stop you working or walking the streets without fear. They ultimately owned your existence. You can imagine his reaction to Keir Starmer’s new ID scheme. Wherever ID is introduced it is because the state does not trust its people Starmer’s digital ID plan is a façade to a deeper problem: unlike the North Korean escapee, many in Britain seem to have forgotten what made us so free. Once, ID cards were tantamount to the death of England – and ‘who lives if England dies?’.