The UK government has started issuing British passports without the words “European Union” even though the UK remains a full member of the bloc. It removed the two words from passport covers issued this week on the working assumption that Brexit day would have been 29 March.
But the move has angered those applying for new passports who were hoping to hold on to an emblem of EU membership.
Susan Hindle Barone, who was one of the first to receive the new-look passports, said: “I was shocked because we haven’t left the EU yet. I assumed we would get the same old passport. It’s not so much about that but it’s the first tangible sign of us leaving the EU.“
Susan Hindle Barone (@SpinHBarone)
TRULY APPALLED. Picked up my new passport today – my old one expires in the next couple of months. See below: Spot the difference! pic.twitter.com/R7BW9lk6I5
In response to a tweet from Barone, Catherine Sutherland said: “I don’t understand how the Home Office can do this while still in the EU though.”
The Home Office issued a statement
