Digital ID cards will do nothing to stop illegal migrant crossings, a former Conservative Security minister has warned.
Sir Keir Starmer initially justified the introduction of digital ID cards by saying they would be a disincentive for migrants cross to the UK from northern France when he unveiled the plans in September. The Prime Minister said the mandatory requirement to show an ID card would make it harder for migrants to slip into the black economy to find work.
He said: "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."
Ministers have since then emphasised how they hope they will making it easier to access public services.However speaking to Chopper's Political Podcast, Tory MP Damian Hinds, who was Security minister from 2021 to 2022, said he doubted whether digital ID cards would stop a single small boat migrant from attempting to cross to the UK.
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Asked if the cards would "stop a single person crossing the channel to come here", Hinds said: "I doubt it very much [because of] the way the black economy, the informal economy works. If you were [here] legitimately, you sign up to deliver a takeaway food and then you subcontract your job to someone here illegally for cash: what role does an ID card play? This is not the way to stop the boats. You need a proper deterrent."
Ministers are set to unveil a consultation on ID cards next month. Documents published alongside the Budget last month show that implementation of digital ID cards is provisionally forecast to cost £1.8billion over the next three years.
Keir Starmer's efforts to tackle Britain's migrant crisis have been strongly criticised | KEIR STARMERAlso on the podcast Labour MP Samantha Niblett defended the scheme. She said: "We absolutely want to take people on the journey with us. And I hope if we are. In principle, I think it's a great idea. I had a lady the other day who commented on a Facebook post saying 'I'm 77 years old. I've never needed this. We don't need it now'. And my argument was, well, at some point in your life we also didn't have the internet. Yet here you are messaging your MP directly and getting a reply. So sometimes the things that we fear can become the things that we take for granted as a easy to use is something we're grateful for."
Listen to Chopper's Political Podcast on YouTube, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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