‘Dark day’ as De La Rue abandons battle to make new passport in UK
CRITICS of a move to let a foreign firm make Britain’s post-Brexit passports yesterday mourned a “dark day for UK manufacturing” after the way was cleared for the work to go to France.
British passport printer De La Rue has abandoned an appeal against the Government’s decision to award the contract to FrancoDutch rival Gemalto.
Shares in the 200-year-old company dipped after it warned for the second time in a month that profits will be under previous expectations, partly due to the £4million cost of its failed bid.
Labour MP Liz Twist, whose Blaydon constituency includes the site of De La Rue’s north-east operation, said: “It’s absolutely devastating news for the factory and for the staff doing a really high quality job.”
Louisa Bull, of the Unite union, said: “Workers will feel let down that the company is not prepared to fight. Our members are mobilised and prepared to fight the Government’s decision which represents a dark day for UK manufacturing.”
De La Rue is headquartered in Basingstoke, Hampshire, but has other sites in Essex, Somerset and its passport division in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, where 200 people work on the current UK contract.
After the Home Office made Gemalto its “preferred bidder” for the £490million contract, De La Rue began work on an appeal.
Political anger was fuelled by the fact that a foreign firm will make the passports just as they revert back in October next year from the EU norm of burgundy covers to Britain’s old blue and gold.
The Government said picking Paris-based Gemalto will save UK taxpayers £120million over the 11-anda-half-year contract.
De La Rue’s chief executive Martin Sutherland said: “We now think the best decision is to move on. ”