LONDON | British citizens and permanent residents will have to produce a mandatory digital identification card in order to get work, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Friday, reviving a contentious idea in an effort to show that the government has control of the country’s borders.

The government says the plan will help reduce unauthorized immigration by making it harder for people to work in the underground economy. It says it will also make it simpler for people to access health care, welfare, child care and other public services.

“You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID. It’s as simple as that,” Starmer told an international meeting of center-left politicians in London. He said the new ID system would be in place before the next election, d

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