Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed for the first time the government is looking at digital ID as a way to tackle illegal immigration.

The prime minister said a new identity programme could play an “important part” in reducing the incentive to enter the UK without permission.

The last Labour government started issuing ID cards to UK citizens, but the scheme was scrapped by the Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition over privacy concerns.

But Sir Keir said he felt the debate had “moved on in the last 20 years”.

Speaking to political editor Chris Mason, Sir Keir said: “We all carry a lot more digital ID now than we did twenty years ago, and I think that psychologically, it plays a different part.”

Asked whether a new scheme could play a role in reducing the attractiveness of the UK as a destination for illegal migrants, he added: “My instinct is it can play an important part. Obviously we need to look through some of the detail.”

He added that, two decades on from the row over New Labour’s physical ID card scheme, the public was likely to “look differently” at a digital-based scheme.

He did not confirm whether any new digital ID scheme would be mandatory.

By law, employers have to check that prospective candidates have the right to work in the UK.

Since 2022, they have been able to carry out checks on passport-holding British and Irish citizens by using digital verification services that have been certified by the government.

A Home Office online scheme also exists to verify the status of some non-British or Irish citizens, whose immigration status is held electronically.

It is understood officials are looking at whether requiring a digital ID could provide a more consistent approach to verifying identity.

They are also thought to be exploring whether the scheme could reduce the use of fake documents, and make it easier to target enforcement activity.

Sir Keir’s comments are the most positive remarks yet by the prime minister about the idea, which is likely to reignite a debate over civil liberties.

Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden has visited Estonia recently to examine the Baltic state’s extensive use of digital identity to allow citizens to access government and some private services such as medical records, voting and banking.

The government has previously rejected a digital ID proposal suggested by former Labour Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, whose government legislated for compulsory identity cards when he was in office.

Around 15,000 were in circulation when the scheme was scrapped by the coalition government in 2011, and the database destroyed.

In July, French President Emmanuel Macron said the UK had agreed to address the “fight against illegal work” as part of pull factors attracting illegal migrants.

There are sanctions including fines of up to £60,000 per unauthorised worker in cases where foreign workers are found to be working illegally.

For agency workers, the responsibility lies with the agency to conduct the relevant checks.

In March, the government announced the requirement to conduct a test would be extended to self-employed contractors carrying out work on behalf of a company.

Currently, firms are responsible for conducting checks on such workers only if they have sponsored the visa allowing them to work in the UK.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper argued the extension would help enforcement in the so-called gig economy, where many workers are employed in temporary or casual roles.