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LONDON - An estimated 10,000 passports were issued to fraudulent applicants in the year to last September, the Home Office said today as it launched a new initiative to reduce identity fraud.
Face-to-face interviews for new applicants, to be introduced in May, could have helped uncover two men convicted of terrorism-related offences who had managed to secure two false passports each, officials said.
One, a Moroccan, is serving an 18-year sentence for a bombing in Casablanca. The other man, Dhiren Barot, who also had seven British passports issued in his own identity, was jailed for at least 40 years last November for plotting to kill thousands with attacks in Britain and the United States.
Identity fraud often turns out to be the "tip of the iceberg" for individuals involved in more serious criminal activity, said James Hall, chief executive of the Identity and Passport Service (IPS).
Most fraudulent applications are done remotely, either by post or through a third party. "People think they can get away with it," Hall said.
The requirement to attend an interview will apply to people aged 16 or over who have never had a passport before. This will mean about 600,000 interviews per year, roughly 10 per cent of all applicants.
"We are currently one of only a few western nations that do not have a face-to-face element to the passport application process," Home Office minister Joan Ryan said in a statement.
"We know that this leads to fraudulent applications and that is why things are going to change this year, starting with first-time adult customers."
From 2009 personal appearances, for fingerprinting and in some cases interviews, will be required for all passport applicants, including those renewing existing passports.
The IPS said it detected some 6,500 attempted frauds last year, with 50 per cent of those originating in the first-time adult application category.
Interviews will last 10 to 20 minutes and take place at 69 dedicated offices throughout the country.
The new requirement will mean that new applicants should allow six weeks for their passport instead of the previous maximum of four weeks, officials said.
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said the fraudulent passport figures showed the system was in disarray.
"This is a shocking admission which betrays chaos at the heart of the passport system," he said. "It also further undermines the government's case for their expensive ID card system."
Last month, a report suggested more than 1,000 passports were going missing in the post each year.
- REUTERS
