Lost passports go unreported for months

 Holidaymakers have been accused of helping terrorists get to the UK as the Home Office reveals most people take around 73 days to report lost passports.

This gives criminal gangs and terrorists plenty of time to use them without being detected, officials have warned, as they urge people to report the loss quickly.

Around 400,000 passports are lost or stolen every year. Experts say they can be used by fraudsters to get into the UK illegally.

Caroline Nokes, the immigration minister, said: “When you lose your bank card, the first thing you do is contact your bank and have it cancelled, yet people don’t treat passports with the same urgency.”