Starmer to consider digital IDs to combat small boat crossings

In a bid to crack down on illegal working by irregular migrants, Sir Keir Starmer's government is considering a digital ID programme. The Prime Minister chaired a meeting of ministers to explore the idea, with Downing Street stating they are "willing to look at what works." The proposal aims to address French concerns that Britain's labour market acts as a pull factor for migrants crossing the English Channel. Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden recently visited Estonia to study its extensive digital ID system, where every citizen has used e-ID for voting and accessing services for over 20 years. There is a belief within Downing Street that the debate around civil liberties has evolved. Former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair had previously faced backlash over a similar proposal for a national ID card.

The government is also launching a separate campaign targeting international students who overstay their visas. Officials will contact tens of thousands of foreign students by text and email to warn them they will be deported if they have no legal right to remain in the UK. This new Home Office initiative follows an "alarming" rise in the number of students who arrive on legal visas but then claim asylum. The messages will explicitly state that asylum claims "lacking merit" will be "swiftly and robustly refused," and that those without a legal right to remain must leave or face removal.

In a statement responding to the news, Interim Director of Big Brother Watch, Rebecca Vincent, said: "We are alarmed by this escalation in the Government's consideration of plans to roll out a mandatory digital ID. While Downing Street is scrambling to be seen as doing something about illegal immigration, we are sleepwalking into a dystopian nightmare where the entire population will be forced through myriad digital checkpoints to go about our everyday lives." 

Vincent went on to warn that "mandatory digital ID is simply not the magic-bullet solution that is often promised to tackle illegal immigration," and she called on the Prime Minister to "scrap this ill-considered plan, and to go back to the drawing board to find solutions for illegal immigration that don't erode the privacy rights of tens of millions of UK citizens and residents."

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