The new UK passport to be issued after Brexit will be made in France, according to the current British manufacturer.
The burgundy passport, in use since 1988, will revert to its original blue and gold colour from October 2019.
The boss of UK supplier De La Rue told the BBC Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto had won the £490m contract.
The Home Office said a winning bid had been chosen but it was up to the supplier to announce the news.
Pro-Brexit former cabinet minister Priti Patel said the decision to hand the new contract to a foreign firm was “disgraceful” and “perverse”.
The Liberal Democrats’ Brexit spokesman, Tom Brake, said the “blue passport saga” was becoming 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.”
New jobs
Under EU procurement rules, the Home Office had been required to throw open the bidding process to European firms.
However, it added that passports did not have to be made in the UK and 20% of blank passport books are currently produced in Europe.
It also said the new deal could save the taxpayer £100m-£120m and that 70 new jobs would be created in the UK, at sites in Fareham and Heywood in Lancashire.
Gemalto, which has its headquarters in Paris and has a factory in Fareham, said it was aware of the reports regarding the contract to produce the new UK passport.
But it added: “As the process is still ongoing and the terms of engagement are confidential, we cannot make any further comment on it at this stage.”
A spokeswoman for the Home Office said: “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.”
The Culture Secretary, Matthew Hancock, told the BBC that EU procurement rules were “very clear” but might change after Brexit.
“As it happens, one of the advantages of leaving the European Union is that we’ll be able to have more control over our own procurement rules,” he said.
Source: BBC
