Brexit vote still can’t bring back our beloved blue British passports
NIGEL Farage’s hopes of bringing back the traditional navy blue British passports following Brexit have been dashed after ministers said they had no immediate plans to replace the current format.
The former Ukip leader used his passport as a constant prop during the EU referendum campaign as he slammed the fact the first two words on the front cover are ‘European Union’.
But yesterday the Home Office said it was not planning to introduce any changes to the current passport at the moment. Tory MP Michael Fabricant, a Brexit backer, questioned the new Home Secretary Amber Rudd about the old blue passports.
In a parliamentary question he asked ‘if she will take steps to introduce a new passport with a navy blue cover for the UK following the exit of the UK from the EU’.
Home Office minister Robert Goodwill responded saying: ‘ There are no immediate plans for changes to the format or colour of the UK passport.
‘Parliament will be informed of any changes to the passport following UK withdrawal from the European Union.’
The blue passports were introduced in 1921, but in 1988 they were replaced by burgundy UK passports in the EU style. In a TV debate during the EU referendum campaign last month, Mr Farage pulled his passport out and said: ‘I think, to make this country safer, we need to get back British passports so that we can check anybody else coming in.’