Our iconic blue passports must be made in Britain
I CAN’T be the only one of the 17million people who voted to Leave the EU who is disgusted the contract to print the iconic blue British passport has been awarded to a Dutch/French company.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We are running a fair and open competition to ensure the new contract delivers a high-quality and secure product, and offers the best value for money. We do not require the passports to be manufactured in the UK.’
Do we not care about British jobs, British quality, British security? Surely paying an extra £12million a year to a British firm is better than awarding this £490million contract to an EU company.
This decision must be reversed in the interest of national security. First our fishing, then our passport. What else will we give away?
D. M. BOON, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea,
Northumberland. WHAT hope is there for our manufacturing sector after Brexit if the Government fails to support home-grown industry?
How can we be sure of the final cost of these passports without knowing what will happen to the exchange rate after Brexit?
With possibly higher import fees, the cost may be higher than quoted, and we must factor in the loss to our economy of this contract.
One of the reasons I voted Leave was to escape regulations that insist on Europe-wide tendering. Surely after Brexit we should be free to support UK companies?
JUDITH HOWARD, London SW11. IF the contract to print passports goes to the Franco-Dutch Gemalto instead of the British De La Rue, then it shows that this Government has learned nothing from the demise of Carillion.
Gemalto has profit warnings against it, which means management failings and the chance it cannot provide consistent service. Then there is the national security aspect. Every other major power in Europe prints within its borders to keep citizens’ details safe.
I do not know why Britain would even consider anything different. Amber Rudd should be confined to the backbenches for her inability to deal with international politics and basic governance.
ANDReW BLANcHe, Banchory, Aberdeenshire. BLUE, burgundy, pink even – whatever colour our passports, they should be made in the UK.
JANe cUNNINgHAM, glasgow.
SNP is all at sea
LET me see if I’ve got the SNP position on fishing right.
Apparently you can’t trust the Tories because they said fishermen would be free of EU rules, but the EU has dug in its heels and now fishermen will be under the rule of Brussels a bit longer.
Meanwhile, the SNP opposes Brexit and wants fishing permanently returned to EU control as soon as possible – except for MSP John Mason (Mail) who says they might scrap the whole EU idea.
It’s not the trawlermen who are all at sea here! cLAIRe FeRgUSON, Paisley, Renfrewshire. WHILE John MacLeod (Mail) is right our fishing fleet is a shadow of its former self, there is something iconic about the industry. No trade was quite as damaged by our entry into the EU and none has as much to gain by leaving.
STUART eRSkINe, glasgow.
Takeover tactics
I HOPE the hostile bid by Melrose for GKN can be thwarted. Having been on the receiving end of similar takeovers, the pattern is always the same: acquire a company as cheaply as possible, cut costs to improve the short-term bottom line and sell on within three years.
This strategy benefits only the acquirer, who gets the profit by cutting staff, investment, training and marketing.
MIke gANLeY, Heywood, Lancs.
Protest farce
THERE have been many misguided political rallies over the years but surely the daftest is the Hands Off Our Parliament demonstration at Holyrood.
Nationalists – many dressed like extras from a budget version of Brigadoon – were there to protest about a post-Brexit ‘power grab’.
Even if some powers do go to Westminster, the SNP has MPs there. The protest looks more like a vote of no confidence in Nationalist MPs than anything else.
J. SINcLAIR, edinburgh.
Goodbye digital radio
I AM pleased the BBC has decided to keep FM radio. DAB is an inferior system. Cramming numerous digital stations into a limited spectrum has resulted in horribly compressed signals.
FM stations are broadcast in stereo, while many DAB stations are in mono, a retrograde step.
Digital signal coverage is patchy and the need to decode signals and reconstruct the sound uses vastly more power than FM. A battery-powered digital radio will munch through batteries long before an FM set needs new ones.
The public has been misled, with adverts promoting digital quality sound, even though it is not necessarily better than analogue.
However, digital TV is another matter: the improved picture, surround sound and programme guide outweigh any drawbacks. DARReN gOODSeLL,
Orpington, kent. NOW common sense has prevailed and FM radio has been reprieved, will car manufacturers bring back CD players?
T. BAILeY, Nottingham.
Mid-life singleton
I AGREE with Jane Alexander about being a mid-life singleton (Mail), particularly with regard to the mundane things others used to do for us.
Ten months ago, I lost my partner of 22 years. Mowing the lawn came as a shock, as did dragging the bins out. Luckily, I had always dealt with the finances, and advise all women to do so.
I have been brave enough to go out alone. I walk a lot, attend yoga classes and twice a week I can be found thrashing out rock songs on an electric guitar, my new hobby.
If you are bereaved, don’t dismiss counselling. I went with an open mind and found it invaluable.
Being a mid-life singleton can be enjoyable, it just needs re-adjustment. The sense of independence has been a confidence booster. JANeT e. LITTLeWOOD,
Redditch, Worcs.
Bird-brained
IT’S wrong to blame peregrine falcons for the decline in songbirds (Letters) — cats are the main predators of small birds.
Raptors are under threat thanks to people taking pleasure in shooting, trapping or poisoning them.
cHRIS DAvIeS, Thornton-cleveleys, Lancs.