Keir Starmer has dismissed claims that the government's decision to drop the mandatory digital ID card for right-to-work checks marks another U-turn, insisting that digital checks remain at the heart of the policy.
The change, confirmed late on Tuesday, removes the requirement for a single digital ID document, allowing alternatives such as a passport with a digital chip or an e-visa instead. Downing Street described the move as a technical tweak, but it removes the only compulsory element of the scheme, significantly watering down its impact.
Speaking to ITV on Wednesday, the prime minister said the checks would still be mandatory and digital. "You will be checked. Those checks will be digital. And they will be mandatory. What we’re now doing is consulting on exactly what that might look like," he said. Challenged on whether this was a U-turn, he replied: "No. We said that you’ll be checked, there will be digital checks. The purpose of it was to stop people working illegally in the country."
The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, used Prime Minister's Questions to ridicule the change, saying the government had no sense of direction. "He is blowing around like a plastic bag in the wind," she said. The policy reversal follows recent changes to inheritance tax for farms and business rates for pubs.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves played down the significance, arguing that as long as mandatory digital identification is required, the form it takes is less important. Business Secretary Peter Kyle added that the system would link biometric data to identity and allow instant eligibility checks by the time the regime is fully in place in 2029.
