Keir Starmer denies change to digital ID plan is yet another U-turn

Starmer has said the key point of the checks – that people would need to show a digital form of ID – ‘is still there’. Photograph: Thomas Krych/Zuma Press/Shutterstock

Keir Starmer has rejected the claim that his change of plan over digital IDs represents another U-turn, as the prime minister faced accusations from the Conservatives that his government had “no sense of direction”.

Late on Tuesday it emerged that a key plank of the controversial plan for digital IDs was being rolled back, with a proposal to make the document mandatory for people to show their right to work being dropped, with other forms of identification being allowed instead, for example a passport with a digital chip or e-visa.