YouTube moved today to counter criticism its platform fuels gang wars by pledging £600,000 to combat online violence – as a minister renewed calls for a Government-backed digital ID system to allow reliable age checks.

In the latest acknowledgement of mounting pressure on Silicon Valley, Google, YouTube’s parent company, said its £600,000 grant was designed to help charities that work to prevent vulnerable children from being recruited into gangs through social media and to support efforts to take down violent online content.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Margot James, the culture minister, revived the long-running debate over ID cards and said Britons needed to “get over” their privacy and cyber security fears.

She said new digital ID systems could prevent children from accessing content inappropriate for their age and boost trust in the digital economy.

Ms James said: “I think there are advantages of a universally acclaimed digital ID system, which nowhere in the world has yet. There is a great prize to be won once the technology and the public’s confidence are reconciled.

“I do think government has a very important role to play either in developing it, or commissioning it, or regulating it.” YouTube’s move marks a significant shift in its approach to tackling online harms after warnings from ministers including Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, that tech companies face tough new laws to force them to do more to block violent and abusive content.