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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| 3,000 passports and visas stolen | 3,000 passports and visas stolen |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| About 3,000 blank passports and visas have been stolen while being transported from Manchester to London. | About 3,000 blank passports and visas have been stolen while being transported from Manchester to London. |
| The documents were in a van which was hijacked on Monday morning. | The documents were in a van which was hijacked on Monday morning. |
| The Foreign Office admitted a serious breach of security over the loss of the passports and visa stickers, which were being sent to embassies overseas. | The Foreign Office admitted a serious breach of security over the loss of the passports and visa stickers, which were being sent to embassies overseas. |
| However, the passport service said the stolen documents could not be used by thieves because of their hi-tech embedded chip security features. | However, the passport service said the stolen documents could not be used by thieves because of their hi-tech embedded chip security features. |
| Electronic data | |
| The Foreign Office said 24 parcels were stolen in the hijack. | |
| The documents were being taken from a factory in Manchester to RAF Northolt, west London, where they were to be sent to British embassies. | |
| The passports were the new electronic variety which contain a chip replicating the data printed on the document itself. | |
| The Identity and Passport Service said the security features would make them unusable on the black market. |