A furious row erupted over Government plans to introduce digital ID cards as part of plans to stop the Channel migrant crisis.

Labour’s Lisa Nandy claimed Sir Keir Starmer was “coming at this from every single angle” in a bid to stop the boats.

And she claimed “we’re disrupting the gangs”.

But Reform’s Richard Tice said “that’s not working” and warned the digital ID plan will cost billions and take years to introduce.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “One of the things we are thinking about is whether we introduce digital ID. We think there is some merit in this.

“We think they offer two benefits. One, is they will be able to make sure people are able to prove their right to be here, to work legally, very easily, which will then help us to deal with the illegal economy and stop people being undercut at work.

“But we also think there might be big benefits for citizens. If you think about the way the NHS app has developed in recent years, and now you’re able to make GP appointments, and access your medical records, we think there may be benefits to the general population as well.

“Beware of any politician who tells you that when it comes to getting control of immigration, there is one single solution. We are coming at this from every single angle. We’re disrupting the gangs, supporting people who have the right to be here, deporting people.”

Mr Tice then interjected: “We know that smashing the gangs is not working so now you are jumping on a new bandwagon.”

Ms Nandy said: “That’s not true. We’ve deported more people under this Government than ever before”.

The Prime Minister is expected to confirm plans for a so-called “Brit card” on Friday amid fears the black economy is convincing Channel migrants to cross in small boats.

Ministers will likely need to introduce new legislation for the hugely controversial plan. Dr Luke Evans, a Conservative MP, said digital ID cards won’t stop the boats.

He told BBC Question Time: “Why are we having this debate?

“There’s something in politics called the dead cat theory, where you throw a dead cat out to distract because the Prime Minister is under pressure from the likes of Andy Burnham and putting pressure on him.

“This would be the perfect place to have this discussion in Parliament.

“We don’t know if this will have access to the NHS. It’s a bizarre situation where Tony Blair put this forward back when he was in Government and then only last year the new Government announced they liked it after voting against voter ID.

“I don’t know where we are trying to get to.” Mr Tice then added: “It’s called a gimmick.”

He said: “Will compulsory ID cards stop the boats? The answer is no, of course it won’t.

“We’ve already got two forms of ID. It’s passports and national insurance.

“If we use those properly, the quantity of people here illegally and working illegally, then we should use the national insurance numbers properly with a proper deterrent for employers that break the laws.

“We know Governments are very bad at managing big IT projects. This will cost billions and billions of pounds and it’s bound to overrun and will achieve absolutely nothing.

“It will take years to introduce. It’s a disastrous idea.”

Sir Keir Starmer defended his returns deal with France as three more people were deported on Thursday.

A Sudanese small boat arrival, an Afghan and a failed asylum seeker from Somalia were all sent back to France, the highest number of departures in a single day.

This means seven people have now been returned, as the Prime Minister admitted the scheme must be ramped up.

Sir Keir conceded only “small numbers” have left the UK under London’s deal with Paris amid an influx of legal challenges “piling in”.

More than 32,000 people have arrived in the UK after making the dangerous journey so far this year.

Asked if he will have failed in his pledge to “smash the gangs” if 2025 ends up being a record year for small boat arrivals in Kent, the Prime Minister told ITV Meridian: “We have to smash the gangs, and it is a serious issue.

“I understand people’s concern about this.”

And Sir Keir defended his “one-in-one-out” returns agreement with France, insisting “we’ve proved the concept”.

“We’ve also massively increased the number of people who are returned, if they’ve come to this country and they’ve got no right to be here,” the Prime Minister continued.

“So, 25,000 have been returned. We’ve got the returns agreement with France, the one in, one out.

“Small numbers – I accept we want to ramp that up but we’ve been able to prove that you can actually remove people, notwithstanding the legal challenges that have been piling in on us.

“You can do it. So, now we’ve proved the concept, if you like, we need to ramp that up. It’s a serious problem which requires serious responses, and that’s what we’re working at day in, day out to achieve.”

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday night urged the Prime Minister to reverse his decision to cancel the Rwanda deportation scheme.