Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out making everyone in the UK sign up for a digital ID card as the prime minister pushes forward on action to go “further and faster” on tackling illegal migration.
A mandatory ID card is one option for the prime minister after he chaired an emergency meeting of his cabinet on Tuesday amid growing pressure to empty asylum hotels and bring down the number of small boat Channel crossings.
The ministers met to explore the idea of digital IDs as part of a discussion “to address some of the drivers of illegal migration, tackle those pull factors, ensure that we’re doing everything we can to crack down on illegal working”, said Sir Keir’s spokesperson.
Asked whether they would consider rolling out a compulsory national ID card, the spokesperson said: “We’re willing to look at what works when it comes to tackling illegal migration.”
No 10 has previously downplayed the introduction of digital ID cards to deter Channel crossings, after prominent public figures including former Labour prime minister Sir Tony Blair made the case for the measure.
Earlier this week, Yvette Cooper announced the existing refugee family reunion route will be suspended this week as a new measure to limit migration, despite warnings from charities it could lead to more crossings.
UK Politics LIVE
- Starmer considering digital ID for everyone in UK
- Labour must 'stop aping' Nigel Farage, says Green Party leader
- Labour could 'look at' free speech laws, says minister
Streeting: Public 'anxious' over arrests for online posts
08:45
,
Nicole Wootton-Cane
Members of the public are “anxious” about “some of the cases” where people have been prosecuted for online posts, Wes Streeting has said.
Discussing the arrest of Graham Linehan over a series of social media posts, the Health Secretary told the BBC’s Today programme: “It’s complicated for legislators and it’s hard for the police sometimes, because they have to apply the law as it is written, not the law as sometimes it was intended.
“And honestly, this is why sometimes when we have debates in Parliament, it can be quite tricky when campaigners are saying: ‘Vote for this clause or that clause,’ because often people legislate with good intentions, but they also have to be mindful of unintended consequences.
“And I think we are all, let’s be honest, quite anxious about some of the cases we’ve seen in the media or proceed through the courts of what people have said online, where you think: ‘Was that really what Parliament intended when they passed these laws?'”
ICYMI: Epping council refused permission to appeal asylum hotel decision
08:33
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Nicole Wootton-Cane
The Bell Hotel in Epping has been refused permission to appeal against a ruling allowing asylum seekers to continue to be housed at a hotel in the area.
It comes as a boost for the Home Office, who last week won a challenge in the Court of Appeal to allow them to keep using the hotel to house migrants.
The hotel has been the site of numerous protests over the summer after a resident asylum seeker was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl last month. He denies the charges.
Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) initially was granted an interim injunction to stop 138 asylum seekers being housed there.
But a judge ruled to overturn Epping Council’s temporary injunction barring asylum seekers from living there, saying it could lead to “further lawlessness”.
EFDC said “no reasons were given” following its unsuccessful application for permission to appeal the most recent judgment, with the council now open to ask the Supreme Court itself for the green light.
Polanski: 'Migration is good for this country'
08:16
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Nicole Wootton-Cane
Newly elected Green Party leader Zack Polanski has been speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning.
When quizzed about immigration, Mr Polanski said the country “needs migrants” and insisted “migration is good for the country.
He said: “When we talk about migration we need to have an honest conversation in this country, that this country needs migrants – we have 150,000 vacancies in the National Health Service (NHS), we have an ageing population.
“Now, of course, we should be training British workers, and must train British workers, both for our care industries, for construction industries and all sorts of other jobs, but also the truth – and only the Green Party is willing to tell this truth right now – is actually migration is good for this country, migrants are paying more into our tax system than they’re taking out in benefits or social security.”
Asked if he is calling for “no limit on migration”, the newly-elected leader said: “Well, I think even that question about numbers is dehumanising, we are talking about human beings here.
“And actually the only reason why you would make a limit is because you would say there are not enough council homes, and our NHS is… crumbling, and I agree with those things, but the answer there is not to blame the migrants.
“The answer there is to stop austerity, the answer there is to build the council homes, (and) to invest in the National Health Service.”
He added: “The Green Party is saying the problem is not the small boats, the problem is the private jets and the private yachts.”
Will this be Keir Starmer’s Budget?
08:08
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Tom Watling
After Sir Keir Starmer’s mini reshuffle on Monday, The Independent’s chief political commentator, John Rentoul, asks if this signals Labour’s new budget.
Badenoch unlikely to win next election, says Truss
08:02
,
Tom Watling
Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives are “unlikely to win the election”, Liz Truss has said as she declined to rule out a bid to return to frontline politics.
Britain’s shortest serving prime minister told a podcast that her party’s refusal to “acknowledge” its failure to take on a “leftist establishment” meant it was destined for defeat at the next general election.
Speaking to The Master Investor Podcast with Wilfred Frost, Ms Truss said she would “never rule anything out” when it came to returning to politics, but refused to answer either way when asked whether this would be with the Tories or Reform UK.
Ms Truss has had a fractious relationship with her successor-but-one, previously accusing Mrs Badenoch of “repeating spurious narratives” after she said the former prime minister carried “quite a lot of” responsibility for the Conservatives’ record in office.
Asked whether she thought Reform’s Nigel Farage was “more likely to deliver” than Mrs Badenoch, Ms Truss said: “I think the way the Conservative Party is going, they’re unlikely to win the election.”
She added: “They’re not prepared to acknowledge what happened over the past 14 years and the failings to really take on what I would describe as the leftist establishment. So I don’t think she’s going to be prime minister at this stage.”
Labour could 'look at' free speech laws, says minister
07:57
,
Tom Watling
MPs should “look at” legislation if the law is “not getting the balance right on free speech”, the Health Secretary has said following the arrest of Father Ted writer Graham Linehan over a series of social media posts.
Wes Streeting told Times Radio: “As a Government minister, I am not able to comment on live police investigations or operational policing decisions.
“So let me just take one step back and talk about the principle. I think the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary have been very clear that with the law and order challenges we’ve got in our country, we want to see people being kept safe by policing streets, not just policing tweets.”
He added: “It’s very easy for people to criticise the police. The police enforce the laws of the land that we as legislators provide.
“So if we’re not getting the balance right, then that’s something that we all have to look at and consider.”
Mr Streeting also rejected the suggestion that free speech was now “banned”, but added: “I do think it’s worth us having a debate” on the issue.
Labour must 'stop aping' Nigel Farage, says Green Party leader
07:54
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Tom Watling
Labour must “stop aping” Nigel Farage and his Reform UK party if it wants to stop them and “the rise of the right”, newly-elected Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said.
Mr Polanski told BBC Breakfast: “Far too many people in this country in previous elections have been told to vote for the least worst option, and people have had enough.”
He added: “The challenge to the Labour Government is if you really want to stop Nigel Farage, if you want to stop Reform and the rise of a right, then stop aping them, stop copying them.
“When Nigel Farage goes out and does a press conference and demonises migrants and people who are clinging to boats fleeing for their lives, Keir Starmer can’t even criticise that – in fact, he implicitly gives it the nod.
“The real threat in this country is multi-millionaires and billionaires who are not paying their fair share in tax – I’m not talking about people who are just trying to earn a living – I’m talking about people who are earning more money while they sleep than any of us could dream of earning, which is why it’s totally unfair that we tax earned income more than we tax unearned wealth.”
Starmer considering digital ID
07:53
,
Tom Watling
After an emergency meeting of his cabinet on Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out making everyone in the UK sign up for a digital ID card to help tackle illegal immigration.
Read out story in full below.
Good morning
07:48
,
Tom Watling
Good morning.
Today we will be following the story in Westminster as the Labour government continues to address the fallout from its latest asylum plans, announced at the start of the week.
The British Red Cross has warned that Yvette Cooper’s latest crackdown could lead to a rise - not a decline - in the number of small boat’s attempting to cross the English Channel.
Read our piece in full below.
