New post-Brexit passports to be made in France, current manufacturer says

Britain's new post-Brexit blue passports will be made in France, according to the current British manufacturer.

De La Rue (Other OTC: DELRF - news) boss Martin Sutherland said his firm had been told by the Home Office that it had missed out on the passports contract, amid reports Paris-based security giant Gemalto (LSE: 0OGA.L - news) had won the bid.

Mr Sutherland said he was "surprised" to learn that "this icon of British identity is going to be manufactured in France", adding that he was "disappointed" and would consider an appeal.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in De La Rue, which has produced UK passports for the last decade, fell 6% on the news.

The development has prompted a furious response from ardent Eurosceptics, amid reports Gemalto undercut other bids by around £50m.

Tory MP Sir Bill Cash said awarding the contract to an EU-based company would be "completely wrong and unnecessary".

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom told MPs (BSE: MPSLTD.BO - news) she was "very sympathetic" to Brexiteers' complaints, advising them how to challenge the Home Office.

Meanwhile, former international development secretary Priti Patel raged it would be a "national humiliation".

Mr Sutherland called on Theresa May and Home Secretary Amber Rudd to explain the decision.

Referring to staff at the firm's Gateshead factory, he said: "I'm going to have to go and face those workers, look at them in the whites of the eyes and try and explain to them why the British Government thinks it's a sensible decision to buy French passports not British passports."

Mr Sutherland added: "I would actually like to invite Theresa May or Amber Rudd to come to my factory and explain to my dedicated workforce why they think this is a sensible decision to offshore the manufacture of a British icon."

A new contract was put out to tender for British passports after Brexit as the current one is due to run out.

The tender was put out across the EU under the bloc's single market rules.

It will coincide with the Government's hopes for a return to a blue-fronted travel document, after Britain has left the EU and ditches the current standard burgundy.

Gemalto's bid will save taxpayers around £100m-120m, according to the Home Office.

A spokeswoman said: "The preferred bidder has been selected following a rigorous, fair and open competition and all bidders were notified of the outcome last night.

"The chosen company demonstrated that they will be best able to meet the needs of our passport service with a high quality and secure product at the best value for money for our customers and the taxpayer.

"It's been the case since 2009 that we do not require passports to be manufactured in the UK. A proportion of passports have been made overseas since then with up to 20 percent of blank passport books currently produced in Europe with no security or operational concerns."