I'm happy with new app, but don’t lose your phone down the loo - Vladimir McTavish

The UK Government is to launch a new app which will include a wallet where identity documents can be stored

Initially you will be able to keep your driving licence there, along with other paperwork such as birth or marriage certificate In the near future, a digital version of your passport will also be available to upload to the app.

I’m guessing many of you will be asking the same question that I did. What happens if you lose your phone? That’s a lot of important documents to drop down the lavvy at one go.

Peter Kyle, the minister in charge of the scheme, was quick to reassure us that that will be no problem, as the documents will be stored online and can be uploaded to a replacement phone. That’s all well and good, but it depends where you lose your phone, doesn’t it?

I was once booked to do a gig in the Northern sector of Cyprus, a country only recognised by two other states in the world, namely Turkey and Azerbaijan. There is no British embassy and no extradition treaty with the UK.

The show took place in an otherwise deserted hotel and we were paid cash. It all went very well, but none of us could escape the conclusion that the audience and promoters were largely made up of British criminals on the run.

To add further jeopardy, there was no mobile phone signal and no WiFi.

As there are no direct flights from the UK, we were flown from Gatwick to Larnaca, and a driver came to collect us and take us across the border. At the checkpoint in Nicosia, we had to show our passports, and also had to do so again on our return.

The reason I tell this story is that if I had lost my passport that weekend or if I had been robbed, I would have been stranded out there. In fact, I might still have been there now I actually slept with my passport under my pillow. If I’d had a digital version on my phone, I would have equally paranoid about losing that.

This new app is a great idea. Just don’t drop your phone down the toilet.