Every adult would have to carry digital ID under plan to fight illegal immigration

A CONTROVERSIAL move to tackle illegal immigration by ordering every British adult to carry a digital ID card was yesterday branded a "gimmick" that would end up being used to "control" everybody.

- By Michael Knowles Home Affairs Editor

Sir Keir Starmer is today expected to confirm plans for a so-called "Brit card" amid fears the black economy is enticing migrants to cross the Channel in small boats.

Some people living in asylum hotels have been spotted working illegally for delivery firms. Others have admitted organising illegal jobs before they even arrived in the UK.

Under the plan, which would require a law change to implement, anyone starting a job would be ordered to show their ID card which could be stored on a mobile.

This would allow officials to check them against a central database of those entitled to work here. It is understood landlords could also check a tenant's immigration status.

Desperate

But opposition parties blasted the idea. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: "This announcement is a desperate gimmick that will do nothing to stop the boats.

"There are arguments for and against digital ID, but mandating its use would be a very serious step that requires a proper national debate.

"The Government has struggled to enforce its feeble one-in, one-out deal with France, which has turned into a 100-in, one-out national embarrassment.

"Can we really trust it to implement an expensive national programme that will put additional burdens on law-abiding people?"