Every working adult in Britain will require a Government-issued digital ID card under a 'dystopian' plan set to be announced by Sir Keir Starmer . The idea of a mandatory identification system has long been advocated by Labour as a way to tackle illegal migration. But the proposal is fiercely opposed by civil rights campaigners, who warn it will erode civil liberties and turn the UK into a 'papers please' society.

Meanwhile, polls show a majority of the public do not trust ministers to keep their personal data safe from cyber-criminals. Detailed proposals for what has been dubbed a 'BritCard' could be announced by the Prime Minister as early as tomorrow. Under the scheme, anyone starting a new job or renting a property would be required to show their digital ID on an app so it can be automatically checked against a central database.

Currently, employees and renters have the option of showing a number of different forms of physical ID, but there are fears these are too easy to fake. There is also little to stop unscrupulous employers claiming they have made a check when they have not. However, critics have dismissed the plan as a reheated version of Tony Blair's failed ID card scheme, which was axed amid privacy fears and soaring costs.

Sir Keir's proposals will be subject to a consultation and are expected to require legislation. Gracie Bradley, of campaign group Liberty, said a new plan was 'likely to be even more intrusive, insecure and discriminatory' than the Labour government's failed 2006 initiative. Meanwhile, Rebecca Vincent, of Big Brother Watch, accused ministers of a knee-jerk response to the small boats crisis.

'While Downing Street is scrambling to be seen as doing something about illegal immigration, we are sleepwalking into a dystopian nightmare where the entire population will be forced through myriad digital checkpoints to go about our everyday lives,' she said. 'Mandatory digital IDs will not stop small boat crossings, but it will create a burden on the already law-abiding population to prove our right to be here. It will turn Britain into a ''Papers, please'' society.' Earlier this month, Sir Keir argued that digital IDs could 'play an important part' in making Britain less attractive to illegal migrants.

He said: 'Most employers who are employing individuals illegally are doing so knowingly. 'Asking them to check ID cards rather than the current checks that they are already obliged to do is not going to make a blind bit of difference to illegal migration.' His concerns were echoed by Andrew Griffith, Tory MP for Arundel and South Downs, who called the proposal 'a complete misdirection' that would 'impose more restrictions on the innocent'. Tory former Cabinet minister David Davis was a high-profile opponent of Mr Blair's scheme and renewed his criticisms today. He said: 'While digital IDs and ID cards sound like modern and efficient solutions to problems like illegal immigration, such claims are misleading at best.

'The systems involved are profoundly dangerous to the privacy and fundamental freedoms of the British people. 'No system is immune to failure, and we have seen time and again governments and tech giants fail to protect people's personal data. 'If world-leading companies cannot protect our data, I have little faith that Whitehall would be able to do better. 'If politicians tell you that your data will be safe, why don't you ask them if they're willing to pay £10,000 compensation to each victim if there is a serious breach? 'The answer will be informative.'

In June, influential left-wing think tank Labour Together made the case for a 'mandatory national digital identity that would be issued free of charge to all those with the right to live or work in the UK, whether they are British-born nationals or legal migrants'. The Government, it argued, 'has the opportunity to build a new piece of civic infrastructure, something that would become a familiar feature of daily life for everyone in the country' by rolling out a BritCard. Asked about mandatory digital ID at the time, Cabinet minister Steve Reed, who is now the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary, told Times Radio it was 'absolutely something' that the Government was 'looking at'.

At his party conference in Bournemouth this month, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said he would back a move 'giving individuals power to access public services'. He continued: 'However, I fear that's not what we're doing.' His party would need to 'scrutinise' the details of a mandatory ID card scheme, Sir Ed said, and added that 'there are models that may answer our objections as liberals'. Mr Starmer is said to have been sceptical of ID cards on civil liberties grounds before coming over to the idea. Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, was believed to be sceptical about ID cards when she was home secretary.

But her replacement, Shabana Mahmood, is strongly in favour. This month she said she was 'very clear' that ministers had to deal with factors that made the UK attractive to illegal migrants. She added: 'I want to make sure that we can clamp down on that. I think that a system of digital ID can also help with illegal working enforcement of other laws as well. I do think that that has a role to play for dealing with our migration. 'My long-term personal political view has always been in favour of ID cards.' Polling has found that almost two-thirds of Britons do not trust the Government to keep their digital identity data secure.

Polling for Big Brother Watch found 63 per cent of Britons do not trust the Government to keep personal information secure. Matthew Feeney, advocacy manager of BBW, said the YouGov survey of 2,153 people shows that people fear their data would be stolen in a cyber-attack. He told the Daily Mail: 'On top of a digital ID scheme being a civil liberties disaster, it would also represent a significant cybersecurity risk. The Government should abandon plans for a digital ID scheme immediately.' The warning follows a series of cyber-attacks against British national infrastructure and a colossal data leak when the details of more than 18,000 people who had applied for asylum under the Afghan resettlement scheme ended up in the hands of the Taliban.

Alexander Iosad, director of government innovation at the Tony Blair Institute, hailed the prospect of digital ID cards. He said: 'Make no mistake, if the government announces a universal digital ID to help improve our public services, it would be one of the most important steps taken by this or any government to make British citizens' everyday lives easier and build trust. 'How we experience government could be about to transform, for the better. 'Not only can Digital ID help us to tackle illegal migration, but done correctly and responsibly, it can open the door to a whole new model of services that come to you when you need them.'