Theresa May says sorry over passport delays
Home Secretary Theresa May apologises for delays in processing passport applications and insisted the government is doing all it can to deal with the situation.
She told the Commons during a Labour-led debate on the delays: “Her Majesty’s passport office is dealing with the highest demand for passports for 12 years, while the surge in demand usually experienced during the summer months started much earlier in the year.
“As a result, a number of people are waiting too long for their passport applications to be processed.
“I would like to say to anybody who is unable to travel because of a delay in processing their passport application that I am sorry and the government is sorry for the inconvenience they have suffered and we are doing all we can to put things right.”
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the situation was a “shambles” and accused Mrs May of incompetence.
“She has come to this late. She hasn’t had her eye on the ball,” Ms Cooper told MPs.
‘Wrecked by her incompetence’
“It is really unfair on people who have saved up everything for their holiday and now it’s being wrecked by her incompetence.”
Mrs May said 11 per cent of applications are not being processed within three weeks.
With the backlog at 493,289 – this means some 54,262 are now potentially at risk of missing their holiday.
The Tory minister told MPs that the figure was around 50,000.
The news came after it was revealed that the backlog of passport applications had almost doubled in just three months this year.
Passport Office chief Paul Pugh admitted almost 500,000 people are now waiting for their travel documents – some 200,000 higher than last year after a surge in applications in the first five months of the year.