The prime minister argued that it is possible to be concerned about immigration while rejecting Reform UK\u2019s \u201ctoxic\u201d approach. \u201cThere is no doubt that for years left-wing parties, including my own, did shy away from people\u2019s concerns around illegal immigration,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
![\"Keir](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/8192.jpg\")
Keir Starmer says plans for a new digital ID held on people\u2019s phones will be an \u2018enormous opportunity\u2019 for the UK and make working illegally tougher. Photograph: Lauren Hurley\/No 10 Downing Street<\/p>\n
Reform UK called the plans a \u201ccynical ploy\u201d designed to \u201cfool\u201d voters into thinking something is being done about immigration. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch also dismissed the plans as a \u201cgimmick that will do nothing to stop the boats\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Liberal Democrats said they would not support mandatory digital ID where people are \u201cforced to turn over their private data just to go about their daily lives\u201d.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Tony Blair\u2019s thinktank said the cards, which will be mandatory by the end of this parliament, could act as a \u201cgateway to government services\u201d.<\/p>\n
More on this story in a moment, but first here are some other developments:<\/p>\n
Ministers are pushing through powers to photograph, name and shame offenders who have been ordered to complete unpaid community work in England<\/a> and Wales. The sentencing bill<\/a>, now moving through parliament, will for the first time give probation officers \u201ca legal power\u201d to take and publish the names and pictures of individuals ordered by courts to tidy grass verges, litter-pick or scrub graffiti.<\/p>\n Leading climate figures and Labour MPs have urged Keir Starmer to attend the crucial Cop30 climate summit<\/a> this November, after aides advised him not to attend for fear of attracting the ire of the Reform party. Simon Stiell, the UN\u2019s climate chief, said: \u201cCop30 is where leaders are expected to come and roll up their sleeves, make deals to help their nation\u2019s economy transition faster, creating more jobs, and guide the world on what next steps we take together.\u201d<\/p>\n Britain will violate its nuclear disarmament obligations if Labour presses ahead with the \u00a31bn purchase of 12 F-35A fighter jets, according to a specialist legal opinion prepared on behalf of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). Two international lawyers argue that the government\u2019s plan to reintroduce air-launched nuclear weapons<\/a> for the RAF will break a key provision of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty<\/a> (NPT) signed by the UK and 190 other countries.<\/p>\n Hopes that international rail services could return to UK stations abandoned by Eurostar<\/a> have grown, with the government backing new competitors who plan to serve stops in Kent. Ministers have been leaning on the rail regulator to give crucial space on the railway to prospective entrants who pledge to bring cross-Channel services back to Ashford and Ebbsfleet stations \u2013 and possibly London\u2019s Stratford International.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.16 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Ministers plan to allow naming and shaming of offenders completing community sentences Ministers are pushing through powers to photograph, name and shame offenders who have been ordered to complete unpaid community work in England<\/a> and Wales.<\/p>\n The sentencing bill<\/a>, now moving through parliament, will for the first time give probation officers \u201ca legal power\u201d to take and publish the names and pictures of individuals ordered by courts to tidy grass verges, litter-pick or scrub graffiti.<\/p>\n The move, pushed through by the government \u201cto build confidence\u201d in community sentences, has sparked concern that it could instead be used to humiliate and embarrass offenders\u2019 partners and children.<\/p>\n Martin Jones, HM inspector of probation, said it could result in more offenders dropping out. He said:<\/p>\n I am very concerned about seeking to name and shame people undertaking unpaid work.<\/p>\n I think it could act as a disincentive to rehabilitation and some may refuse to turn up. If offenders are turning up to do the work I do not see a reason why they should also have their images published, particularly when the evidence shows that reintegration back into communities and employment are key to preventing reoffending.<\/p>\n Ian Lawrence, the general secretary of Napo, the probation officers\u2019 union, said the change would bring shame upon families of offenders, particularly children. He said:<\/p>\n This proposed policy serves no value to the rehabilitation of offenders but could have potentially devastating effects on innocent family members, namely children.<\/p>\n It seems to only serve as a form of humiliation, not just for the offender but those around them. It also could potentially place people on unpaid work at risk, especially if it involves those that commit sexual offending.<\/p>\n It comes as the government plans to rapidly expand \u201ccommunity payback\u201d as an alternative to custodial sentences, as part of a plan to divert offenders away from overcrowded prisons.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Digital ID will be compulsory for anyone who wants to work in the UK, the culture secretary has said, reports the PA news agency.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be compulsory if you want to work in this country, so you\u2019ll have to show that to be able to prove that you have the right to work,\u201d Lisa Nandy told BBC Breakfast. However, in a speparate interview with Sky News Nandy said that while all UK citizens will have a digital ID under new plans, it will be \u201centirely their choice\u201d whether they use it (see 8.21am BST<\/a>).<\/p>\n She said the change would make a \u201csignificant dent\u201d in the number of people who are able to work illegally because current documents can be too easily falsified.<\/p>\n A national insurance number \u201cwon\u2019t be sufficient\u201d in future to prove employment rights, she said.<\/p>\n The problem with national insurance numbers is that they\u2019re not linked to anything else.<\/p>\n So they\u2019re not linked, for example, to photo ID, so you can\u2019t verify that the person in front of you is actually the person whose national insurance number that you\u2019re looking at, and we\u2019ve seen a real rise in the amount of identity theft and people losing documents and then finding that their identity has been stolen.<\/p>\n She said the government was not putting a \u201cprecise figure\u201d on the cost of rolling out the scheme because the consultation would seek to determine how it would work for groups including older people, homeless people and people with disabilities.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Lisa Nandy insists digital ID ‘will not be mandatory for people to use’<\/p>\n All UK citizens will have a digital ID under new plans, but it will be \u201centirely their choice\u201d whether they use it, culture secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News:<\/p>\n The plan is to ensure that everybody has it, but you can choose whether you use it.<\/p>\n She referred to debates over identity cards that go back to when Tony Blair was prime minister between 1997 and 2007. Nandy said:<\/p>\n We\u2019ve debated it ever since. It\u2019s important, of course, that we protect people\u2019s civil liberties, and we have got no intention of pursuing a dystopian mess. But I do think for most people, this is a fairly common sense and practical measure.<\/p>\n And like I said, although all UK citizens will have a digital ID, it will not be mandatory for people to use it. It will be entirely their choice.<\/p>\n Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said that while all UK citizens will have a digital ID under new plans, it will be \u2018entirely their choice\u2019 whether they use it. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz\/Future Publishing\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Introducing digital IDs will not change what penalties companies face for failing to check their employees\u2019 right to work, a cabinet minister has said.<\/p>\n Culture secretary Lisa Nandy told Times Radio:<\/p>\n Companies already are meant to check on whether people have the right to work in the UK and face penalties for that \u2026 they will continue to face those penalties.<\/p>\n But she said it would make it easier for businesses to do their checks:<\/p>\n It makes it much easier for companies to be able to do this and to be able to check whether people are able to work legally or not, which means there is no excuse for not doing so.<\/p>\n The cards will be free of charge, she said and funded under existing spending plans.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> It is 21 years since Tony Blair\u2019s government made proposals for an ID card system to tackle illegal working and immigration, and to make it more convenient for the public to access services.<\/p>\n The same issues are on the agenda again as Keir Starmer revives what became one of New Labour\u2019s most controversial policies<\/a>. He is about to find out if he can defeat the argument that David Cameron\u2019s Conservatives made before scrapping it. They said the ID card approach to personal privacy was \u201cthe worst of all worlds \u2013 intrusive, ineffective and enormously expensive\u201d.<\/p>\n Blair is an important figure in the latest push, through lobbying carried out by his Tony Blair Institute (TBI).<\/p>\n The idea re-emerges in a different technological world in which smartphones are ubiquitous and much, but far from all, of the population is familiar with negotiating digital credentials.<\/p>\n Starmer appears ready to try again, and ministers believe there will be less public opposition, although digital ID cards could worsen the effect of digital exclusion.<\/p>\n Age UK has estimated<\/a> that about 1.7 million people over the age of 74 do not use the internet. TBI\u2019s arguments in favour are that far from reflecting the \u201cpapers, please\u201d caricature, digital ID \u201cbrings fairness, control and convenience to people\u2019s everyday interactions with each other and with the state\u201d.<\/p>\n It can close loopholes exploited by trafficking gangs, reduce pull factors driving illegal migration to Britain, speed up citizens\u2019 interactions with government, reduce errors and identity fraud and boost trust as a tangible symbol of a more responsive and flexible state.<\/p>\n The arguments against often centre on privacy. Civil liberties campaigners fear any mandatory ID card system, even one intended to tackle illegal migration, would require the population to surrender vast amounts of personal data to be amassed in national databases.<\/p>\n Robert Booth is the Guardian\u2019s UK technology editor. You can read more of his analysis here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a> The prime minister will set out the measures on Friday at a conference on how progressive politicians can tackle the problems facing the UK, including addressing voter concerns around immigration.<\/p>\n The proposals for a \u201cBrit card\u201d would require legislation and are already facing opposition from privacy groups.<\/p>\n However, No 10 is understood to believe that it is necessary to make sure people have the right to work in the UK to tackle illegal migration, and that the national mood has moved on since Tony Blair\u2019s plans for ID cards were abandoned in the 2000s.<\/p>\n Starmer said this month that digital IDs could \u201cplay an important part\u201d in making Britain less attractive to illegal migrants, and France has repeatedly claimed that the lack of official cards acts as a \u201cpull factor\u201d.<\/p>\n The prime minister has also spoken about the government\u2019s goal of \u201cpatriotic renewal\u201d, comparing it to \u201cthe politics of grievance, of toxic divide, which is what Reform are all about\u201d. He dismissed the Conservative party as \u201cbasically dead\u201d.<\/p>\n During his speech on Friday, he will set out his view that the far right is injecting a \u201cpoisonous\u201d discourse into national life, saying:<\/p>\n At its heart \u2013 its most poisonous belief \u2013 on full display at the protests here in London, just a week or two ago, that there is a coming struggle, a defining struggle, a violent struggle for the nation. For all our nations.<\/p>\n Now \u2013 you don\u2019t need to be a historian to know where that kind of poison can lead. You can just feel it. A language that is naked in its attempt to intimidate.<\/p>\n But he will also explain his belief that immigration and borders need to be controlled, saying:<\/p>\n For too many years it\u2019s been too easy for people to come here, slip into the shadow economy and remain here illegally.<\/p>\n Starmer will add:<\/p>\n It is not compassionate leftwing politics to rely on labour that exploits foreign workers and undercuts fair wages. But the simple fact that every nation needs to have control over its borders.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>What do the digital ID cards entail?<\/p>\n Starmer\u2019s plans envisage ID cards being stored on devices in the same way contactless payment cards or the NHS app are.<\/p>\n The digital ID would be the authoritative proof of identity and residency status in the UK and include name, date of birth, and a photo as well as information on nationality and residency status, reports the PA news agency.<\/p>\n How the scheme will work for those who do not use smartphones will be addressed as part of the consultation process.<\/p>\n Those who do not want to carry a digital ID card or do not operate digitally could be given a physical card instead, according to The Telegraph.<\/p>\n Mandatory ID cards have previously only existed during wartime.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.09 EDT<\/p>\n Starmer says digital ID cards an ‘enormous opportunity’ for UK and will make working illegally tougher<\/p>\n Keir Starmer says plans for a new digital ID held on people\u2019s phones will be an \u201cenormous opportunity\u201d for the UK and make working illegally tougher.<\/p>\n Digital ID will become mandatory as a means of proving the right to work under the plans, but people will not be required to carry or asked to produce it. It will be available to UK citizens and legal residents by the end of this parliament, reports the PA news agency.<\/p>\n Starmer said:<\/p>\n I know working people are worried about the level of illegal migration into this country. A secure border and controlled migration are reasonable demands, and this government is listening and delivering.<\/p>\n Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure.<\/p>\n And it will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly \u2013 rather than hunting around for an old utility bill.<\/p>\n Starmer admitted Labour<\/a> has previously shied away from addressing concerns over immigration said it is now \u201cessential\u201d to tackle \u201cevery aspect of the problem of illegal immigration\u201d in an article for The Telegraph.<\/p>\n The prime minister argued that it is possible to be concerned about immigration while rejecting Reform UK\u2019s \u201ctoxic\u201d approach. \u201cThere is no doubt that for years left-wing parties, including my own, did shy away from people\u2019s concerns around illegal immigration,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n Keir Starmer says plans for a new digital ID held on people\u2019s phones will be an \u2018enormous opportunity\u2019 for the UK and make working illegally tougher. Photograph: Lauren Hurley\/No 10 Downing Street<\/p>\n Reform UK called the plans a \u201ccynical ploy\u201d designed to \u201cfool\u201d voters into thinking something is being done about immigration. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch also dismissed the plans as a \u201cgimmick that will do nothing to stop the boats\u201d.<\/p>\n The Liberal Democrats said they would not support mandatory digital ID where people are \u201cforced to turn over their private data just to go about their daily lives\u201d.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Tony Blair\u2019s thinktank said the cards, which will be mandatory by the end of this parliament, could act as a \u201cgateway to government services\u201d.<\/p>\n More on this story in a moment, but first here are some other developments:<\/p>\n Ministers are pushing through powers to photograph, name and shame offenders who have been ordered to complete unpaid community work in England<\/a> and Wales. The sentencing bill<\/a>, now moving through parliament, will for the first time give probation officers \u201ca legal power\u201d to take and publish the names and pictures of individuals ordered by courts to tidy grass verges, litter-pick or scrub graffiti.<\/p>\n Leading climate figures and Labour MPs have urged Keir Starmer to attend the crucial Cop30 climate summit<\/a> this November, after aides advised him not to attend for fear of attracting the ire of the Reform party. Simon Stiell, the UN\u2019s climate chief, said: \u201cCop30 is where leaders are expected to come and roll up their sleeves, make deals to help their nation\u2019s economy transition faster, creating more jobs, and guide the world on what next steps we take together.\u201d<\/p>\n Britain will violate its nuclear disarmament obligations if Labour presses ahead with the \u00a31bn purchase of 12 F-35A fighter jets, according to a specialist legal opinion prepared on behalf of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). Two international lawyers argue that the government\u2019s plan to reintroduce air-launched nuclear weapons<\/a> for the RAF will break a key provision of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty<\/a> (NPT) signed by the UK and 190 other countries.<\/p>\n Hopes that international rail services could return to UK stations abandoned by Eurostar<\/a> have grown, with the government backing new competitors who plan to serve stops in Kent. Ministers have been leaning on the rail regulator to give crucial space on the railway to prospective entrants who pledge to bring cross-Channel services back to Ashford and Ebbsfleet stations \u2013 and possibly London\u2019s Stratford International.<\/p>\n![\"Rajeev](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rajeev_Syal.png\")
Rajeev Syal<\/p>\n![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758872651_443_Robert_Booth.png\")
Robert Booth<\/p>\n![\"Rowena](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758872651_64_Rowena-Mason,-L.png\")
Rowena Mason<\/p>\n