Every Briton will receive a “digital ID card” under plans being actively considered by Sir Keir Starmer to tackle the small boats crisis, as Number 10 refused to rule out making the controversial scheme mandatory.
The Prime Minister chaired an emergency meeting on Tuesday to “explore” how digital identification could address the “pull factors” attracting Channel migrants to Britain, with Whitehall insiders confirming ministers agreed with the proposals.
Sir Keir told Cabinet it was “easy to understand the frustration people feel at the level of illegal crossings and the site of asylum hotels in their communities,” according to his official spokesman.
Emergency Meeting on ‘Pull Factors’
The high-level meeting involved Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden, focusing on how to clamp down on “pull factors and illegal working” in relation to the small boats crisis.
A Number 10 spokesman confirmed the government is “exploring options around digital ID, accelerating the closure of hotels and looking at better forms of accommodations, and driving further progress returning people with no right to be here.”
When pressed on whether the ID cards would be mandatory for all citizens, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said they would “look at what works,” refusing to rule out compulsory implementation.
Macron’s Repeated Warnings
The Government has been warned multiple times by French President Emmanuel Macron that Britain’s lack of ID cards is a large incentive for migrants to cross the Channel.
French officials have claimed that Britain attracts migrants because the lack of a national identity card makes it easier to work illegally.
The French leader has repeatedly pressed British counterparts to address what Paris sees as the UK’s attractive “pull factors,” including the ability to disappear into the informal economy.
Estonia Model Praised
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden, who visited Estonia over the weekend, praised the Baltic state’s digital identification system and warned Britain was at risk of being left “behind the curve” in adopting new technologies.
McFadden is currently on an official visit to Estonia, where 90 percent of citizens use their national electronic identity to access government services.
Estonia’s state-issued digital ID cards allow citizens to pay bills, vote, sign contracts and access their health information in one go – a system Mr McFadden suggested could help reduce Channel crossings.
“We’ve already got good synchronicity between the passport and the driving licence system. So we’ve built some of this already. But I definitely think we’re going to have to move on and innovate more from where we are at the moment,” McFadden told The Times.
How Digital IDs Would Work
Although specific details remain unclear, the system would likely mirror European models. In France, national identity cards are plastic with chips containing photographs and fingerprints, while a digital version is available via smartphone app.
In France, national identity cards are plastic and have a chip which contains a person’s photograph and fingerprints, while a digital version is available on an app.
Citizens can obtain cards by showing their passport or presenting other original documents alongside proof of nationality.
Farage’s Mass Deportation Plan
The government’s ID card exploration comes just days after Nigel Farage revealed his Reform UK party’s mass deportation plan, prompting Sir Keir to push “further and faster” to stop the flow of illegal migrants.
Small boat crossings have increased since Labour came to power last July, with more than 21,000 people crossing from northern France to southeast England in rudimentary vessels this year alone.
The Prime Minister faces mounting pressure as immigration has become the dominant political issue in Britain, eclipsing concerns over the economy.
Crackdown on Illegal Working
Reports of the digital ID drive follow summer crackdowns on migrants working illegally, with particular focus on the apparent ease for them to begin working as delivery drivers in the gig economy.
Since the government came into power, Immigration Enforcement have increased illegal working activity by 51%, with 10,031 visits leading to 7,130 arrests.
The government has announced plans to undertake a major nationwide blitz targeting illegal working hotspots, focusing on the gig economy and migrants working as delivery riders.
Tony Blair’s Long Campaign
Using digital ID cards to deter migrants has been championed by ex-PM Sir Tony Blair, who has repeatedly called for the system as a solution to immigration challenges.
“In office, I believed the best solution was a system of identity, so that we know precisely who has a right to be here,” he writes for The Times.”With, again, technology, we should move as the world is moving to digital ID. If not, new border controls will have to be highly effective.”
The Tony Blair Institute has argued that a digital ID system would make it harder for undocumented migrants to blend into the informal economy, as everyone would need to present their digital identity card to access employment or benefits.
‘Orwellian’ Warnings
Campaign group Big Brother Watch has condemned the proposals as “Orwellian” and praised Winston Churchill for scrapping analogue ID cards in 1952.
Yesterday marked 71 years since Sir Winston Churchill scrapped identity cards in a bonfire of wartime controls to ‘set the people free.
The group warned: “The digital identity-backed database state Sir Tony is describing would be one of the biggest assaults on privacy ever seen in the UK.”
International Comparisons
In the Western world, only Canada, Australia, the UK, New Zealand and Denmark do not have some form of national ID card system.
Estonia claims its digitalization has saved the country about 2 percent of its GDP annually through increased efficiency and reduced costs.
Mr McFadden highlighted that Estonia’s system has demonstrated it can withstand cyberattacks from Russia thanks to decentralisation.
Political Divisions
The proposals have sparked fierce debate across the political spectrum. Shadow ministers have warned the scheme could become a tool for surveillance rather than immigration control.
Big Brother Watch director Susie Alegre told media outlets that digital IDs will not help curb irregular migration: “Anything that starts off with the purpose of trying to use digital ID to control migration, A) doesn’t meet that test because it won’t, you’ll still have irregular migration.
Timeline and Implementation
Whitehall sources stressed that the potential introduction of ID cards is still in the early stages, though insiders told The i Paper that ministers agreed with the idea in principle.
The government is reportedly considering whether any digital ID system should be compulsory for all residents or remain voluntary, with Mr McFadden acknowledging these considerations require public input.
France-UK Cooperation
The ID card proposals come amid ongoing negotiations with France over managing Channel crossings. Under the new UK-France pilot, any asylum claim submitted by a migrant who has crossed the Channel will be considered for inadmissibility and, if declared inadmissible, the Home Office will organise readmission of the individual to France.
Sir Keir has promised to work more closely with European partners to tackle the crisis, though critics argue ID cards alone won’t solve the complex migration challenges.
As the government prepares to test new approaches “within a matter of weeks,” according to officials, the debate over digital identity cards looks set to intensify, raising fundamental questions about privacy, civil liberties and immigration control in modern Britain.
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