John McTernan has defended Sir Keir Starmer's announcement of mandatory Digital ID cards for all Britons, claiming
Speaking to GB News, the former Political Secretary to Sir Tony Blair declared the move as a "common sense approach" to give Britons "more security".
Outlining the plan in his speech at the Global Progress Action summit in London, Sir Keir said: "I am announcing this Government will make a new free of charge digital ID mandatory for the right to work by the end of this Parliament.
"Let me spell that out. You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have Digital ID, it's as simple as that.
"Because decent, pragmatic, fair minded people. They want us to tackle the issues that they see around them."
John McTernan has defended Keir Starmer's rollout of mandatory Digital ID cards
|GB NEWS / PA
Defending the rollout on GB News as a "wedge" between Labour and Reform UK, Mr McTernan stated: "Digital ID cards I think is an idea whose time has come.
"It's an idea that always tests well with the public, and it's one that Nigel Farage is going to go 'no, don't do that', so it's a good wedge.
"We are for security, we are for making sure that people who are working here are working legally, and Nigel Farage is going on about civil liberties and Big Brother, and I think that's a great place for Labour to be."
Suggesting that Labour could emulate former US President Joe Biden's approach to immigration, Mr McTernan said there are also "safe legal routes" in which people can apply from other countries.
He explained: "There was a speaker today who talked about Joe Biden's successful strategy towards the end, which was a safe route for people to apply from other countries, and then absolutely going back to the countries they came from, everybody who then didn't come on a safe route.
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"And that I think is the vision behind the France deal, the vision behind the Germany deal, and so you could see an emerging European Union deal, which is no one comes across the Channel and you get sent back.
"But if you come here, you get an ID and you get to stay, and I think in that sense we know the boundaries are being securely patrolled."
Defending the ID cards further, Mr McTernan argued that they may be seen as "state control", but it is "state control to make us safe".
He told GB News: "The ID cards can be opposed because it's a form of big state control, but it's state control to make us safe.
"And I think one of the key themes of Keir today was he's been providing security abroad."
Pressed by GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope on a growing petition by Britons against the plans, Mr McTernan claimed that the people voting in the petition "would not vote Labour".
Mr McTernan told GB News that 'normal citizens' have 'nothing to fear' about Digital ID
|GB NEWS
He said: "The thing to do in politics is pick a fight, and if you pick a fight, you will split people, and we're not looking for votes from those people.
"It's a common sense approach, it will make sense, and it will give us more security."
He concluded: "But he [Starmer] will like there being a fight because people keep talking about it. If people don't oppose it, no one knows it's going on, and I think it's got the deep attraction, and then the access to public services and the efficiency of public services that you can build on top of it are important too.
"I think that it's a very minority view in the country, that it's big brother, watching people. If you're a good citizen, a normal citizen, what have you got to fear?"