Passport Thefts Slammed

While officials are trying to play down the significance of the theft, the loss of 3,000 blank passports and visas worth in a robbery yesterday is expected to have serious security repercussions.

Greater Manchester Police have launched an investigation and are appealing for eyewitnesses to come forward after two unarmed thieves assaulted a security officer before driving off in the van in Oldham on 28 July.

They said that the documents, worth around £2.5 million, were targeted when the driver stopped off to buy a newspaper at a newsagent's in Long Lane, Chadderton, Oldham, Greater Manchester.

Police confirmed the offender threatened the deliveryman waiting in the van and forced him to lower his head before assaulting him.

So far, while playing down the significance of the theft, the Foreign Office has admitted at the very least, a serious breach of security over the loss of the documents.

While the passport service said the stolen documents could not be used by thieves because of their hi-tech embedded chip security features, fraud experts say they can still be used as a form of identification and even for travel in countries where the chip technology is not used.

Keith Vaz, a Labour MP and the Chairman of the influential Commons Home Affairs Committee, wants an inquiry into UK passport security.

"I find it extraordinary that the theft of so many passports was even possible," Mr Vaz said.

"This Government has put the eradication of illegal immigration at the top of the political agenda. It is therefore completely unacceptable that such sensitive documents are transported in a way that puts them at risk of theft."

(BMcC)