British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will today announce plans to mandate digital ID cards for all adult citizens as part of his plans to address illegal immigration, according to multiple media reports yesterday.
The government has previously said it was considering such measures, which could be used to make it harder to employ those without the legal right to work in the country as it looks to address public concern over immigration.
Starmer’s office did not comment on the reports, which said he would announce the plan at a policy conference today.
In the 2000s, Starmer’s Labour Party, then led by Tony Blair, attempted to introduce a physical identity card, but the plan was eventually dropped by Blair’s successor, Gordon Brown, after years of opposition that called it an infringement of civil liberties.
Britons have not been issued with identity cards since their abolition after the Second World War, and typically use other official documents such as passports and driving licences to prove their identity when required.
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