Alan Johnson when he was home secretary in 2009 with a mock-up of the ID card he was proposing at the time

Two former home secretaries are calling on the government to put national identity cards “back on the agenda” after the Windrush scandal.

In a joint letter to The Times, Charles Clarke and Alan Johnson claim that if Theresa May had not abandoned plans to introduce ID cards as home secretary in 2010 then thousands of undocumented British citizens would have had their status regularised.

They warn that unless the government reconsiders the policy, Brexit risks leaving thousands of EU citizens in a similar predicament.

“Theresa May’s ideological and unwise decision to ditch the Labour government’s scheme immediately she took office as home secretary has left her and her beleaguered successor with no idea how to tackle the most pernicious form of immigration: illegal entry,