The SNP has criticised the UK Labour Government after figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request revealed that £843,743 of public money was spent developing the proposed “Brit Card” before the policy was abandoned.
According to the FOI response, £733,743 was initially spent by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Responsibility for the project was later transferred to the Cabinet Office, which spent a further £110,000 before the proposal was scrapped.
The identification card scheme was dropped before any card was issued, following opposition from civil liberties groups and critics who argued it raised concerns around privacy and national identity.
The revelation comes amid wider political criticism of what the SNP describes as repeated policy reversals by the UK Government.
Earlier this week, ministers confirmed they would proceed with English local elections after a legal challenge, a decision expected to cost an estimated £63 million.
As part of that case, the government has agreed to cover legal costs estimated at more than £100,000 for Reform UK.
SNP Depute Westminster Leader Pete Wishart MP said the spending on the “Brit Card” highlighted what he described as mismanagement at Westminster.
“The Labour Party’s botched Brit card is the most expensive imaginary card in history, it is a classic example of Westminster waste and one more example of the cost of chaos under Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.
“From start to finish this idea dreamed up by Tony Blair years ago and copied by Keir Starmer was a disaster.
“It was a blatant Westminster attack on basic liberties, on privacy and on the diverse national identities of this so-called union of equals.
“Now that the ‘Brit Card’ has rightly been consigned to the digital dustbin, taxpayers are counting the cost of another Labour Party U-Turn.
Labour promised ‘change’ but all we have witnessed is the same turmoil as we saw under the Tories, this isn’t government, this is chaos.
“This whole sorry and wasteful affair tells Scots everything they need to know about Westminster and it is a powerful reminder that we can escape this constant chaos for good through the fresh start of independence.”
The UK Government has not yet issued further comment on the total costs associated with the scrapped proposal.
