De La Rue appeals decision to award post-Brexit passport contract to Gemalto

British security printing company De La Rue has launched an appeal of the UK government’s decision to award the post-Brexit passport contract to French firm Gemalto, PoliticsHome reports.

Gemalto won the contract with a £490 million bid, significantly less than the £610 bid from De La Rue, according to PoliticsHome, and the government has suggested Gemalto provided more guarantees about the security of personal data. De La Rue has manufactured British passports for 10 years.

A spokesman for De La Rue questioned the sustainability of the price offered by Gemalto, while shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer said that “of course” a British company should supply the country’s passport.

“The story of the passport sums up the Government’s approach really to Brexit,” Starmer said. “It starts by saying it’s going to be blue and then it’s not going to be blue. It starts saying it’s going to be the UK and now it’s France. Over-promising and under-delivering, which for me categorises year one of the negotiations.”

Gemalto is currently in the process of being merged with Thales to create one of the world’s largest digital security companies.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  De La Rue  |  Gemalto  |  passports  |  UK