More than 300,000 people have backed a petition opposing Keir Starmer’s digital ID cards.

Fury over the plans surged on Thursday night, as concerns over privacy and data breaches intensified.

Tens of thousands of people have signed an e-petition on Parliament’s website opposing the proposals this evening, with 50,000 adding their names in just over 40 minutes.

The total is likely to rocket further over the coming hours.

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.

Sir David told the Daily Express: “It is an exercise in masquerading as something that will solve the problem. It won’t punish the people driving illegal migration. It will punish normal people.

“In the past, my fears over an Orwellian state have been mostly prevented by their own incompetence. That sort of comfort disappears with AI. AI will be able to read all the data – what it can’t do now, it will be able to do in a couple of years.”

Mr Davis pointed to the case of Paddington rail crash survivor Pam Warren, who faced a smear campaign by Sir Tony Blair’s Government.

He said: “Look at the way Tony Blair behaved with Pam Warren. They were trying to find something against them. They were not a malevolent, a bit ruthless, but not a malevolent Government.

“Imagine it was in the hands of someone, say the British equivalent of Trump, who recently said he hates his enemies.

“If you have digital ID cards, it’s all condensed in one place. All some special advisor in Number 10 would have to say is ‘find me the most embarrassing thing’. All sorts of things would be available – treatment for depression, visits to a sexual health clinic, bankruptcy, anything that might be used against you.”

Sir David said members of the public who may be sympathetic to the idea to slash illegal immigration would soon turn when the Government loses their data.

He told the Daily Express: “The big thing that will change people’s minds… When this was proposed before, the Government lost two CDs containing the data of 20 million people.

“At the start, there was an 80/20 split in favour. It then switched to say 70/30 against. In the last couple of months, the Co-op and M&S have been attacked and over the last year every single one of the big Californian tech companies has lost billions of records.

“I am concerned. When it comes to IT, most politicians can’t tie their own shoelaces.

“The Government doesn’t have the first idea on how to deal with it.

“There are real risks and real dangers.

“As for solving the illegal migration problem, I nearly burst out laughing when I heard that. When you go for a job, you will need digital ID, but at the moment you need a National Insurance number. So what’s the advantage here?

“People are already breaking the law. The type of jobs in the black economy – the cannabis farms – are not going to ask for digital ID.”

Migrants living in asylum hotels have been spotted working for delivery firms, such as JustEat and Deliveroo. And some have admitted organising illegal roles before they arrived in the UK.

Anyone starting a new job would be ordered to show the digital ID card, which would then allow officials to check the individual against a central database of those entitled to work in the UK. Landlords would also be able to check someone’s immigration status, it is understood.

Sir Keir Starmer is said to have changed his mind on the proposals following pleas from senior figures including French President Emmanuel Macron.

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Starmer will try literally anything other than fixing the route of our problems: our broken legal system that stops us deporting illegal migrants.

“Most employers who are employing individuals illegally are doing so knowingly. They are doing so dishonestly,” he said.

“Merely asking those employers 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.”

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “This announcement is a desperate gimmick that will do nothing to stop the boats.

“There are arguments for and against digital ID, but mandating its use would be a very serious step that requires a proper national debate.

“Instead, this is a throwaway conference announcement designed to distract attention from Andy Burnham’s leadership maneuverings and the crisis in Downing Street over the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff.

“The government has struggled to enforce its feeble one-in-one-out deal with France, which has turned into 100-in-1-out national embarrassment, can we really trust it to implement an expensive national programme that will impact all of our lives and put additional burdens on law abiding people.”

Former Home Office minister Tom Pursglove branded the proposal "a new low" for Labour.

He added: "We already have right to work, rent and bank checks, with increasing biometric capabilities. This new 'Digital ID' will impinge on the freedoms - "Papers please!" - of the law abiding majority and won't make a shred of difference to the problem it purports to solve."

A Reform UK spokesman said: "This announcement is a cynical ploy to fool voters that something is being done about illegal immigration. It's laughable that those already breaking immigration law will suddenly comply, or that digital IDs will have any impact on illegal work, which thrives on cash-in-hand payments. All it will do is impinge further on the freedoms of law-abiding Brits."