Keir Starmer expected to announce plans for digital ID cards

"Keir Starmer is expected to set out plans for every adult to have digital ID cards in an attempt to tackle illegal migration to the UK."

"It proposed a free, secure digital ID, stored on a person's smartphone using ministers' planned gov.uk Wallet app, rebranded as the BritCard app."

"The thinktank paper also said it would help reduce vast numbers of visa overstayers, saying half of those whose asylum claims were turned down over the past 14 years were probably still in the UK."

Keir Starmer is expected to introduce plans for every adult to hold a digital ID card called BritCard to reduce illegal migration and verify the right to work. The scheme would require legislation and will likely face opposition from civil liberties campaigners. No 10 considers the measure necessary to ensure employment eligibility and believes public sentiment has shifted since earlier ID proposals. Digital IDs are presented as a deterrent to illegal migrants and to address claims that a lack of official IDs acts as a pull factor. Proposals include a free, secure digital ID stored on smartphones via the gov.uk Wallet rebranded as a BritCard app, with a free verifier app for employers, immigration officials, banks and landlords. Kirsty Innes, director of technology at Labour Together, is now a special adviser to the technology secretary.

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