LONDON — The British government has watered down plans for mandatory digital identification cards, a contentious idea it had touted as a way to help control immigration.
It's the latest policy U-turn by Prime Minister Keir Starmer's embattled center-left government, which is under fire from both opposition politicians and governing Labour Party lawmakers.
Officials confirmed Wednesday that it won't be compulsory for citizens and residents to show a digital ID card in order to get a job, ditching a key plank of the policy announced in September.
''The digital ID could be one way you prove your eligibility to work,'' Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told the BBC, alongside other documents such as biometric passports.
The government said detailed plans for digital ID cards will be ''set out following a full public consultation which will launch shortly.''
Starmer announced in September that ''you will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID. It's as simple as that.''
He said the plan would help reduce unauthorized immigration by making it harder for people to work in the underground economy. He said it would also make it simpler for people to access health care, welfare, child care and other public services.
He faced an immediate backlash, with polls suggesting support for digital ID plummeted after Starmer backed the idea.
