'A national humiliation': Britain's post-Brexit blue passports to be made by the French
The Local France - [email protected]
Published: 22 Mar, 2018 CET.
Updated: Thu 22 Mar 2018 12:49 CET
A mixture of outrage and hilarity (depending on what side you are on) has greeted the news that the shiny new blue British passports set to replace the current red ones after the UK leaves the European Union will in fact be made by a French-dutch company.
The 10-year contract for making the passports which is said to be worth £500 million was won by the Franco-Dutch company Gemalto after it undercut its British rival De La Rue by £50 million, according to reports.
Gemalto was founded in France in 1988 and is listed on both French and Dutch stock exchanges. It is owned by the French giant industrial giant Thales.
The business, whose headquarters are in Amsterdam is mostly known for producing phone sim cards however it also produces passports for 30 other countries including France, in a top-secret location somewhere in Europe.
There is speculation that the printing site is located at Gemalto's site in Geménos, just outside Marseille. The company also has another major site nearby at La Ciotat.
But the blue passports are seen by many Brexit supporters as an iconic symbol of the country's independence from Europe.
So the news that it will be a French company rather than a British one producing them has left emotions running high.
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Abused, shunned but unfazed: What it's like being a Brexit-supporting Brit in France
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Photo: AFP
"This should be a moment that we should be celebrating. The return of our iconic blue passport will re-establish the British identity," former cabinet minister Priti Patel told The Sun.
"But to be putting the job in the hands of the French is simply astonishing. It is a national humiliation."
Similarly, Tory MP Sir Bill Cash, chairman of the Commons European Scrutiny Committee labelled the move "completely wrong and unnecessary".
While the head of De La Rue Martin Sutherland told BBC Radio 4 that he found it “disappointing and surprising” that this “icon of British identity is going to be manufactured in France”.
Meanwhile the Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake summed up the situation like this: "The blue passport saga is turning into a farce."
"First it was established that we did not have to leave the EU to have blue passports. Now we learn that the passports will be printed by a foreign company. And to add insult to injury, we will pay over the odds for them because the value of the pound has fallen since Brexit and they will have to be imported."
So how did it happen?
Well, it turns out the tender to produce the passport was put out across the EU single market rules.
No doubt that information will leave Brexit supporters even redder than their current passports.
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The 10-year contract for making the passports which is said to be worth £500 million was won by the Franco-Dutch company Gemalto after it undercut its British rival De La Rue by £50 million, according to reports.
Gemalto was founded in France in 1988 and is listed on both French and Dutch stock exchanges. It is owned by the French giant industrial giant Thales.
The business, whose headquarters are in Amsterdam is mostly known for producing phone sim cards however it also produces passports for 30 other countries including France, in a top-secret location somewhere in Europe.
There is speculation that the printing site is located at Gemalto's site in Geménos, just outside Marseille. The company also has another major site nearby at La Ciotat.
But the blue passports are seen by many Brexit supporters as an iconic symbol of the country's independence from Europe.
So the news that it will be a French company rather than a British one producing them has left emotions running high.
READ ALSO:
- Abused, shunned but unfazed: What it's like being a Brexit-supporting Brit in France
- Brexodus: The Brits in a rush to move to France before Brexit day
Photo: AFP
"This should be a moment that we should be celebrating. The return of our iconic blue passport will re-establish the British identity," former cabinet minister Priti Patel told The Sun.
"But to be putting the job in the hands of the French is simply astonishing. It is a national humiliation."
Similarly, Tory MP Sir Bill Cash, chairman of the Commons European Scrutiny Committee labelled the move "completely wrong and unnecessary".
While the head of De La Rue Martin Sutherland told BBC Radio 4 that he found it “disappointing and surprising” that this “icon of British identity is going to be manufactured in France”.
Meanwhile the Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake summed up the situation like this: "The blue passport saga is turning into a farce."
"First it was established that we did not have to leave the EU to have blue passports. Now we learn that the passports will be printed by a foreign company. And to add insult to injury, we will pay over the odds for them because the value of the pound has fallen since Brexit and they will have to be imported."
So how did it happen?
Well, it turns out the tender to produce the passport was put out across the EU single market rules.
No doubt that information will leave Brexit supporters even redder than their current passports.
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