Downing Street is looking to bring in an identity card app in a bid to clamp down on illegal immigration.
Senior No 10 figures are said to be examining proposals for a new BritCard which would display a person's right to live, work and rent in the UK.
The idea, which would see individuals' identities stored on a smartphone, also aims to tackle benefit fraud by linking the card to government records and has received support from several cabinet ministers, inluding cabinet office minister Pat McFadden and technology secretary Peter Kyle.
Advocates think the scheme will send the message that Britain is not 'a soft touch' on illegal migration and will decrease the 'pull' factor, which many European countries blame for the ongoing small boats crisis, The Times reports.
Britain remains the only European nation without an ID card system, with Tony Blair's famous attempt to introduce one collapsing in 2011, after the coalition government pulled the plug on it.
