New passports to cost GBP85

The cost of a UK passport will more than double to pay for the incorporation of biometric data, the Home Office announced yesterday. David Blunkett, Home Secretary, said that new-style passports and ID cards, which the Government hopes to implement across the country within three years, would cost a total of GBP85. This price includes GBP70 for the passport itself, and GBP15 for an ID card. The passport will include details of the holders’ irises and fingerprints as well as a photograph. The announcement has provoked condemnation in some quarters: the Daily Mail quotes LibDem spokesman Mark Oaten as saying: “It’s a type of stealth tax. Tourists will be funding Mr Blunkett’s pet project. Barry Hugil, of the civil rights group Liberty, reportedly added: “A sum of GBP85 for a passport is remarkably expensive and could deter many people from travelling abroad.” Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd