Fact check: Https://news.sky.com/story/the-uk-is-an-outlier-by-not-taking-up-id-research-finds-as-tony-blair-calls-for-digital-card-shake-up-13273946

1. Summary of the results

1. Summary of the results:

The UK is indeed one of only 6 OECD countries without a national ID scheme, alongside Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States. This makes the "outlier" claim technically accurate. The Tony Blair Institute has proposed implementing mandatory digital identity cards, suggesting potential annual savings of £2bn for the Treasury, while McKinsey analysis from 2019 indicated it could boost UK GDP by 3%.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints:

The original statement omits several crucial contextual elements:

• Recent global implementations show varying degrees of success: Norway, Hungary, Denmark, Japan, and Lithuania have introduced ID systems in the last decade, with some making them optional while others (Chile, Luxembourg, Turkey) made them mandatory
• There are significant civil liberties concerns that explain the UK's position, particularly regarding surveillance and privacy rights
• The current UK government has proposed legislation for "digital identities" but specifically designed them to be optional, not mandatory, showing a more nuanced approach than simply "not taking up ID"
• The resistance to ID cards isn't unique to the UK but rather appears to be common among English-speaking countries, suggesting cultural factors may play a role

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement:

The statement's framing as the UK being an "outlier" carries a negative connotation that may be misleading:

• It fails to acknowledge that being in the minority doesn't necessarily mean being wrong - the UK's position aligns with other major democracies like the US and Canada
• The statement overlooks that different approaches to identity verification can be equally valid based on different cultural and historical contexts
• There's a potential bias in presenting this as a simple binary choice (having ID cards vs. not having them) when global implementations show various hybrid and optional approaches
• The involvement of the Tony Blair Institute in promoting this narrative should be noted, as they have a specific political agenda and vision for digital governance that may not align with all perspectives on civil liberties and privacy