LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday defended his decision to shelve plans to make a digital ID mandatory to work in Britain. The latest U-turn in his Labour government´s policies follows an intense backlash against plans to introduce a free digital ID for UK nationals and those residing in the country in a bid to curb illegal migration.
Officials briefed British media late on Tuesday that the new ID which had been proposed by the government in September would no longer be mandatory for employment. “I´m determined to make it harder for people to work illegally in this country, and that is why there will be checks,” Starmer told parliament. “They will be digital, and they will be mandatory.”
Earlier, finance minister Rachel Reeves insisted the right to work would still be contingent on providing a form of digital verification.
“We are saying that you will need mandatory digital ID to be able to work in the UK,” she told the BBC.
“Now the difference is whether that has to be one piece of ID -- a digital ID card -- or whether it could be an e-visa or an e-passport,” Reeves added.
