From today, digital veteran cards are available for ex-members of the armed services - the first step in the digitisation of almost every form of ID.

No, this isn't the controversial "mandatory" right to work checks announced recently - more on that later - but it is part of the same programme for pretty much all forms of government identification to be accessible on your phone by the end of 2027.

This will mean passports, driving licences, national insurance cards and many more being virtual instead of - or as well as - being stashed in a shoebox or under socks in a drawer.

At an event at the Tower of London - chosen for its millennia-old juxtaposition with the digital revolution - Beefeaters showed off their shiny new cards and joked of using it to get discounted food.

There was

See Full Page