UK govt shells out £550 for Digital ID panel, bans press

The UK government is paying 100-120 selected members of the public £550 each to participate in a 'People's Panel on Digital ID', involving two weekends in Birmingham and three Zoom sessions. Invitations were sent to 36,000 addresses asking how Britain should design a national digital identity system. Notably, journalists and media workers are explicitly barred from attending. The panel, costing around £630,000 in total and run by the Sortition Foundation and Ipsos, will produce recommendations for government ministers. Critics note the framing of the question presupposes digital ID will be built rather than leaving that open.