British firm will not appeal against post Brexit passport contract

British firm will not appeal against post Brexit passport contract



FDe La Rue has said it will not appeal against the government's contr*versial decision to choose a Franco-Dutch company to make the post-Brexit blue UK passports.



The British firm, which currently produces the passports, said it had 'considered all the options', but would not challenge the move.



It means the £490million contract is now almost certain to go to Gemalto, which has its headquarters in Amsterdam and is listed on the French and Dutch stock exchanges.



The firm said in a statement: 'De La Rue will continue to fulfil its existing contract and assist with transition to the new supplier and is therefore expecting no impact on the group's performance in the next 18 months.'



The Government has come under heavy fire for its decision to choose a European firm for the contract after October 2019, but has claimed it will save £120million during the lifetime of the 11-and-a-half-year contract. 



In response to concerns about the choice of Gemalto, the Home Office extended the deadline for lodging an appeal.



De La Rue, which is 200 years old, was given until today to file its papers. It has taken the first steps towards lodging an appeal.



But it has now decided there is not enough chance of success.



Ministers claim choosing Gemalto will save up to £120million over 12 years.



However, De La Rue, which makes eight million UK passports a year at its Gateshead factory, says Gemalto may have wildly played down the true cost of producing passports reliably, securely and to a high standard in order to win the contract.