THE Government is “absolutely” looking at the idea of digital ID cards, a Cabinet minister has said.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed said that ministers “know we need to look at all the actions we can take” to reduce illegal migration.
It comes amid reports Number 10 are looking at plans for a so-called “Brit Card”, a digital ID on a smartphone that could be used to check on somebody’s rights to live and work in the UK.
Speaking to Times Radio on Friday morning, Reed (below) said: “It’s absolutely something that we are looking at, and that we should be looking at.”
He added: “We know we need to look at all the actions we can take to stop the levels of illegal migration that we were seeing particularly under the last government.
“We have to stop the number of people that we’ve seen who don’t have a right to come here.”
Asked whether he thought digital IDs should be mandatory, Reed told the same station: “There’s a discussion going on and I’m happy to take part in that discussion as well.
“I think it’s absolutely right that we should be looking at this, it’s something that’s been talked about for quite a while, the Government referenced it in a white paper, but now there will be a more detailed conversation.”
Plans for the Brit Card have been put forward by the think tank Labour Together.
In the foreword to their report on the ID, two new Labour MPs say that it “will not be a silver bullet to the problem of illegal migration” but “should form an important part of Labour’s enforcement strategy”.
Jake Richards and Adam Jogee said: “There can be no doubt that this is the kind of ambitious, progressive project a Labour government should pursue to protect our borders and empower our citizens.”
Labour previously ruled out bringing in digital ID cards, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (above) saying in July: "That’s not our approach."
Former Labour leader Tony Blair has been a longstanding advocate of ID cards, which critics say violate people's privacy.
As prime minister he brought in identity cards on a voluntary basis, with just 15,000 being issued before the scheme was scrapped by the Coalition government in 2011.
