'Why Should Anybody Believe You?': Nick Robinson Monsters Labour Minister Over Latest U-Turn

Nick Robinson monstered a Labour cabinet minister after Keir Starmer’s latest U-turn on compulsory digital ID cards.

The veteran BBC broadcaster asked “why should anyone believe” what the government announces given the prime minister’s track record of climbdowns.

It was confirmed on Tuesday night that digital ID will no longer be mandatory for anyone seeking work in the UK – despite Starmer saying it would be when he announced the policy last September.

Incredibly, it was the 13th U-turn by the government since Labour’s general election victory 18 months ago.

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander was forced to defend the government’s position in a round of broadcast interviews on Wednesday.

On Radio 4′s Today programme, Robinson told her: “It’s as simple as this, isn’t it? No one has any idea which policy this government will stick to. You announce things, and you abandon them. You make U-turns.

“There have been two this year, it’s only 14 days in to 2026. You made one just before Christmas. Why should anybody believe the words you’ve just uttered ... or the words of a press release when again and again ministers scrap their own announcements?”

Earlier in the interview, Alexander had insisted the government was still “committed to mandatory digital right to work checks”.

But she admitted that producing a digital ID card would not just be “one way” of someone proving they have the right to work in the UK.

Meanwhile, former Labour home secretary David Blunkett has also attacked the digital ID U-turn.

He said: “I’m disappointed but I’m not surprised, because the original announcement was not followed by a narrative or supportive statements or any kind of strategic plan which involved other ministers or those who are committed to this actually making the case.

“As a consequence, those who were opposed to the scheme for all kinds of nefarious and very different reasons, some of them inexplicable, were able to mobilise public opinion and get the online opposition up and running.”