NOW MAKE THEM IN BRITAIN!
As traditional blue passports are set to return after Brexit, MPs demand ...
THE blue UK passports being revived after Brexit must be made here, MPs said yesterday.
Theresa May declared the decision to ditch European Union burgundy versions from October 2019 was a sign of renewed sovereignty and independence.
But EU tendering laws mean the new passports could end up being designed and manufactured in Germany or France.
Only one of the three companies competing for the £490million contract is British.
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘Passports are symbolic of our national identity and sovereignty and of course they should be manufactured in the UK.’
Fellow Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg added: ‘Symbolism is important and I hope it will be printed in the UK.’
A third Tory MP has called for a Commons debate on whether the Government should adopt a ‘buy British’ policy.
The new blue design will replace the burgundy cover in use since 1988.
The current version will continue to be issued for several months after the UK leaves the 28-state bloc on March 29, 2019, but without the words ‘European Union’.
When the existing supplier’s contract expires in October 2019, the colour will switch to blue.
The passport is routinely redesigned every five years, meaning the change will not cost any extra money. Some Labour MPs, including education spokesman Angela Rayner, claimed
the move would cost £500million. The error was repeated many times on social media.
London Labour MP David Lammy tweeted: ‘Brexit is turning us into a laughing stock. We’re swapping the right to live and work in 27 countries for new passports that will cost the taxpayer £500m.’
Mrs May tweeted: ‘The UK passport is an expression of our independence and sovereignty – symbolising our citizenship of a proud, great nation.
‘That’s why we have announced that the iconic blue passport will return after we leave the European Union in 2019.’
The decision on which firm will win the contract will be made in spring. Britain’s De La Rue is competing against French and German rivals.
Under the EU tendering rules, the UK cannot favour a British firm. The decision must be taken on which bidder offers the best value for money.
Home Office minister Brandon Lewis said: ‘Leaving the EU gives us a unique opportunity to restore our national identity and forge a new path for ourselves in the world.
‘It will also be one of the most secure travel documents in the world, with a
‘Restore our national identity’
raft of new security measures to protect against fraud and forgery.’
Many who voted remain still ‘speak fondly’ of having a blue passport and will welcome its return, he claimed.
Among the new design features will be a new picture page made of a ‘ super- strength plastic polycarbonate material that will be more difficult to alter’.
The passports will continue with the biometric features introduced in 2006, with added security features such as a chip holding facial details.
Blue was first used for the cover of the British passport in 1921, but the design changed in 1988 after the UK joined the European Economic Community and burgundy was chosen as the common colour.
The move to blue was welcomed by Brexit supporters, including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. ‘It’s a wonderful thing if people want to have a blue passport again,’ he told ITV News. ‘I remember a sense of personal loss and outrage when they were taken away. I remember when Jacques Delors the former president of the European commission said he wanted to calm the British people down, he said: “We will give you back the blue passport” and they never did.’
Tory MP Andrew Rosindell said: ‘For 30 years we’ve had a passport which had to be harmonised with the rest of the EU. There was no need for it, it was purely another way for the EU to take control of things that they don’t really need to.’
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage celebrated the news on Twitter yesterday, tweeting: ‘Happy Brexmas!’ He added: ‘In the 2016 referendum, we wanted our passports back. Now we’ve got them back!’
In the Commons, Tory MP Mark Pritchard asked Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom if it might be possible to have a debate on how best to support British companies.
He asked: ‘Does the Leader of the House share my concern that the new British passport from 2019, could be designed and printed in Germany – made in Berlin rather than made in Britain? Can we have a debate on made in Britain?’
However, Conservative MP Anna Soubry, a Remain supporter, mocked the decision to switch colour. She tweeted: ‘Stand by for street parties as blue passports return. Not sure they’ll make up for broken Leave promise of extra £350m a week for NHS.’
And Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called it ‘insular, inward-looking, nonsense’, adding: ‘Never has “stop the world, Scotland wants to get on” felt more relevant.’