Brexit backers demand blue passports be made in UK as France and Germany vie for contract
BREXIT backing MP’s have called for the nation’s new blue passports to be made in Britain as companies in Germany and France vie for the contract.
The Prime Minister introduced the post-Brexit return to blue passports for UK citizens yesterday, declaring the document “an expression of our independence and sovereignty”.
As well as dropping the burgundy cover carried by the majority of passports issued in the bloc, the redesign will also see ensure British travel documents no longer bear the words “European Union”.
Now MPs including rising Eurosceptic star Jacob Rees-Mogg have called for the “important” symbolism of the new passports to be recognised in the way they are created.
It follows demands from MP Andrew Rosindell for the document to be “manufactured in Britain, in a British factory, employing British people, because if it is not it rather defeats the objective of upholding British identity”.
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British security company De La Rue are currently in charge of designing the UK's passports.
But their contract is due to expire in 2019, meaning companies based outside the UK could take over the job.
Two foreign firms, believed to be German and French, have reportedly made the Home Office's shortlist for the contract.
Writing on Twitter, Jacob Rees Mogg said: “Symbolism is important and I hope it will be printed in the UK too.”
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On Thursday Tory MP Mark Pritchard expressed his “concern” to the Commons over claims the contract could be taken up on the continent, decrying the notion any new British travel document could be “made in Berlin, rather than made in Britain”.
It follows comments from Tory MP Andrew Rosindell, head of Parliament's Flags and Heraldry Committee, who previously described the EU-designed document as a "source of humiliation".
Earlier this year urged the Government to hire a UK company rather than one based in Berlin or Paris.
He said: "I want to see the new British passport manufactured in Britain in a British factory employing British people, because if it is not it rather defeats the objective of upholding British identity."
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Fellow Eurosceptic MP Andrew Bridgen added: "While I want to see the Government achieving the best value for money, it would be ludicrous if our passports were made in Europe."
The popular navy passport was first introduced in 1920.
But it was replaced by Brussels' uniform burgundy design in 1988, with "European Community" emblazoned on the front.
The phrase was replaced by "European Union" in 1993, after the Maastricht Treaty was signed to create the modern-day EU.
