The British Government have been found to be have spent millions funding foreign digital IDs before announcing plans for the UK scheme.
The Foreign Office used tax cash to fund the controversial schemes in two countries over multiple years, Lewis Brackpool, of Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain as director of investigations, told Bev Turner on GB News' The Late Show Live.
Mr Brackpool revealed the group had obtained documents from the Foreign Office regarding the funding.
He said the document confirms that the UK Government is funding and designing "governance and digital ID infrastructure" overseas for foreign nations - not just for Britain.
These programmes are run through the United Nations Development Programme, and are funded by the UK's Good Governance Fund (GGF).
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According to the FCDO's website, the GGF works primarily in eastern Europe and the western Balkans, and supports "states to become more resilient to external and internal shocks, both political and economic, and hence support growth, stability and poverty reduction".
Mr Brackpool confirmed the UK funding had totalled £3.8million between 2021 and 2025 and focussed on two countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Georgia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina launched the scheme earlier this year, under which citizens are able to access their ID card, driver's license and passport in a digital identity app.
Bosnians can also check for traffic fines, penalties and other administrative procedures such as requests submitted to public institutions.
Lewis Brackpool told Bev Turner that Restore Britain obtained an exclusive document from the Foreign Office about the funding of foreign digital IDs
|GB NEWS
It is understood the Bosnian Government is aiming to attract over half a million users within the first year, which would equate to more than 17 per cent of its 2.9 million-strong population.
Mr Brackpool said the funding for this scheme from the UK Government is around £2.7million and includes the creation of national "e-service portals and frameworks" as well as the development of digital IDs and e-payment networks.
It also includes a formal "memorandum of understanding" between the British Embassy and the United Nations, as well as a public service design toolkit based on the UK Government digital service method.
He told Bev: "Effectively the UK's own digital government model is being exported and embedded inside another country's citizen data system."
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|GETTY
Meanwhile, in Georgia, a programme called the Public Administration Reform received around £1million of British taxpayers' money.
Mr Brackpool said the scheme focuses on areas including "trust services alignments, mobile ID feasibility studies and cyber security for citizen data systems".
In September, Sir Keir Starmer announced plans to roll out a mandatory digital ID system across the UK.
But the scheme has been lobbied for by Sir Tony Blair since the early 2000s.
In September, Sir Keir Starmer announced plans to roll out a mandatory digital ID system across the UK
|PA
Mr Brackpool said: "None of us were ever asked for this. This has been a project that's been pushed along for a long time.
"The Tony Blair Institute has been really pushing after the mid-2000s, when Tony Blair's push for his national ID cards didn't go through in the Houses of Parliament.
"It's almost like vengeance now."
Since Sir Keir's announcement, an online petition against digital IDs has gained nearly three million signatures.
A Government spokesman said: “We will introduce a digital ID within this Parliament to help tackle illegal migration, make accessing government services easier, and enable wider efficiencies. We will consult on details soon.”
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