Thousands face travel delays as tempers rise over Passport Office backlog
Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday accused Labour leader Ed Miliband of scaremongering over delays at the Passport Office, which had left thousands of families at risk of having to cancel their summer holidays.
During Prime Minister’s question time yesterday, Cameron said the Home Office was facing “above normal” passport applications which had led to the delays, with a backlog of 30,000 applications. Earlier this week, unions claimed the backlog was closer to 500,000.
Labour blamed the backlog on a feud between home secretary Theresa May and education secretary Michael Gove, adding that staffing levels had been cut and responsibilities increased. However, Cameron hit out at the opposition for “frightening people”.
Despite the passport problems, Heathrow airport yesterday reported 6.2m passengers in May, a record for the month and a 2.2 per cent boost compared to the same month last year.