Andy Burnham to scrap digital ID plans and allow new North Sea oil and gas licences after becoming prime minister

Andy Burnham will become prime minister on Monday after meeting King Charles III and will immediately scrap plans for a government-issued digital ID for all British adults. His office said the time and resources previously allocated to the scheme will instead address daily priorities such as the cost of living.

The Office for Budget Responsibility estimated last November that the programme would cost £1.8 billion over three years.

Downing Street had rejected that figure. Nearly three million people signed a parliamentary petition opposing digital IDs, after which the government shifted in January to a voluntary scheme unveiled by Cabinet Office minister Darren Jones. Sir Keir Starmer had introduced plans for a mandatory digital ID for workers ahead of Labour's conference last year.

He argued the system would help clamp down on illegal immigrant workers and allow citizens to prove identity for services without searching for utility bills. Home Affairs Committee Chair Dame Karen Bradley said the government was right to pursue digital ID but had botched the launch. She described the rollout attempts as "nothing short of a fiasco" that raised fears of government over-reach.

She added that the earmarked sums represented a waste of taxpayers' money. Burnham will also announce plans for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. The Labour Party's 2024 manifesto pledged not to issue new licences while honouring existing ones, a commitment Burnham said he would follow.