Sir Keir Starmer has delivered a crushing admission that his party has failed British voters by getting immigration policy disastrously wrong for years.

The Prime Minister has made the explosive confession ahead of a major speech designed to counter the surging threat from Reform UK.

In a dramatic policy U-turn, Starmer has unveiled plans to force every adult in Britain to carry a digital ID card in a bid to tackle illegal migration. The admission emerges as Starmer makes huge Channel migrant deportation concession as three more returned.

The cards would become mandatory for work by the end of the decade, marking a stunning reversal of Labour's previous opposition to such schemes.

Writing for The Telegraph, the Prime Minister acknowledged that his party had previously turned its back on voters' genuine concerns about illegal immigration.

Labour's shameful migration legacy exposed

Starmer has delivered a damning verdict on his party's past approach to one of the most pressing issues facing Britain.

"There is no doubt that for years Left-wing parties, including my own, did shy away from people's concerns around illegal immigration. It has been too easy for people to enter the country, work in the shadow economy and remain illegally," he wrote.

The Prime Minister declared that tackling illegal immigration must now be treated as an absolute priority for his government.

"We must be absolutely clear that tackling every aspect of the problem of illegal immigration is essential," he stated.

Blair's scrapped scheme makes shock comeback

The announcement represents a remarkable resurrection of controversial ID card plans that were ditched 15 years ago.

Sir Tony Blair's original scheme was scrapped by the incoming Conservative-led coalition, which branded it "an erosion of civil liberties".

The dramatic policy reversal comes as Starmer prepares to deliver a major speech on patriotism at the Global Progress Action Conference in London on Friday.

Reform threat forces PM's hand

The Prime Minister's intervention represents a desperate attempt to combat the rising influence of both Reform UK and far-Right figures such as Tommy Robinson.

Starmer finds himself under mounting pressure on the eve of Labour's annual party conference to prove he can reverse Nigel Farage's party's alarming surge in support.

The embattled leader is also facing the prospect of a potential leadership challenge from Andy Burnham, who revealed this week that MPs were urging him to stand against Starmer.

Starmer hits out at Burnham challenge

The Prime Minister launched a brutal attack on his potential rival during a TV interview on Thursday, drawing comparisons between Burnham and disgraced former PM Liz Truss.

Starmer claimed that his challenger's spending plans would lead to "the infliction of harm" on working people across the country.

Digital ID cards to become work requirement

In his Telegraph article previewing the speech, Starmer argued that concerns about immigration levels were legitimate while rejecting Reform's approach as "toxic" and divisive.

"The simple slogans offered by Reform will not do anything to resolve the problem. There is no silver bullet, but we must enforce every possible measure to deter illegal migrants from entering British waters. This Government will make a new, free of charge Digital ID that will be mandatory for the right to work by the end of this Parliament," he wrote.

Left-wing migration myths demolished

The Prime Minister delivered a scathing assessment of his party's previous stance on legal migration, admitting Labour had got it badly wrong.

"Equally, the belief that uncontrolled legal migration was nothing but good news for an economy should never have been accepted on the Left. It is not compassionate Left-wing politics to rely on labour that exploits foreign workers and undercuts fair wages," he declared.

Tories blamed for immigration surge

Starmer launched a fierce attack on the Conservative Party's record, claiming their policies had led to a massive increase in immigration numbers.

"The huge increase in immigration that happened under the Conservatives was based on a hyper-liberal free market viewpoint. Labour is clear that there must be no return to that. Having established that clarity, Labour is freer than the Conservatives to call out the toxic division that is being promulgated by the populist Right," he wrote.

Battle for Britain's future begins

The Prime Minister framed the political debate as a fundamental choice between opposing visions for the country's future.

"Britain faces a choice between decency and division, between renewal and decline. This is the defining political choice of our times, and we must be unafraid of challenging a politics of grievance, preying on the problems of working people," he declared.

Island of strangers regret haunts PM

The admission follows Starmer's controversial warning four months ago that Britain risked becoming "an island of strangers" - a remark he later admitted regretting.

The comment had sparked fierce criticism and highlighted the political minefield surrounding immigration policy debates.