UK digital ID – does the Government want to stop migrants, welcome them, or track them?

Normally Westminster Forum policy conferences are chaired by a peer, who – as in Parliament itself – can sit above partisan discussions in the House of Commons and ensure that fairness and balance are maintained (and, from time to time, that tough questions are asked, if not always answered).

Yet while the first session at last week's eForum on UK digital identity was chaired by Lord Clement-Jones, Liberal Democrat spokesman on science, innovation, and technology, the second part was overseen by Labour MP Emily Darlington; the first time I can recall a member of the ruling party chairing one of these debates on government tech policy.

Traditionally, a spokesperson from a Whitehall department would close each eForum with a bland statement of intent, but that model seems to have been abandoned under UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. However, any fears that Darlington would stage-manage the discussion like some 21st Century Pravda ...