Cost of new passports to increase
The BBC reports that opposition politicians are linking recently-announced passport price rises to the costs of the ID Cards Scheme:
But the Conservatives said people were paying the price for the government’s determination to proceed with ID cards.
“The government admits that it has no idea how many people will have to volunteer for ID cards before they cover their costs so it looks like the cost is being lumped onto our passports,” said shadow home secretary Chris Grayling.
The Lib Dems said the cost of passports had more than quadrupled since Labour came to power.
“This price hike is exactly the kind of thing we can expect when the government starts to lose money hand over fist on ID cards,” said its home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne.
