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3,000 passports and visas stolen Passports worth £2.5m stolen
(about 2 hours later)
Greater Manchester Police has launched an investigation into the theft of 3,000 blank passports and visas. Thieves who got away with 3,000 blank passports and visas worth around £2.5 million targeted the van as it stopped at a newsagent's, police have said.
The documents were in a van which was targeted on 28 July. The two thieves, who were not armed, assaulted a security officer before driving off in the van on 28 July.
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. Greater Manchester Police have launched an investigation and are appealing for eyewitnesses to come forward.
A former Scotland Yard fraud officer said the passports may be worth £1,700 each and could be used to set up bank accounts or get employment. The Foreign Office has admitted a serious breach of security over the loss of the documents.
I don't think that it necessarily shows a sloppy attitude Harriet Harman The raid took place as the driver stopped off to buy a newspaper at a newsagent's in Long Lane, Chadderton, Manchester.
The theft is the latest in a series of security breaches but Labour's deputy leader, Harriet Harman, has denied the government has a cavalier attitude towards security. Police confirmed the offender threatened the delivery man waiting in the van and forced him to lower his head before assaulting him.
"I think that this is a robbery - a serious crime - and it will be being investigated. But I don't think that it necessarily shows a sloppy attitude. I think it's a crime which is a serious one and will be looked into and we hope obviously - that the police will be able to apprehend the offenders." I find it extraordinary that the theft of so many passports was even possible Keith Vaz, Labour MPChair of Commons Home Affairs Committee
The Conservatives regard the theft as another example of lax government security. "Whilst the driver was in the shop, both the doors to the van were opened and the passenger in the van had his head forced down into the dashboard and got told to keep his head down.
"I think the lesson we need to draw from it is relying on technology as the government does to keep us all secure doesn't work," Tory home affairs spokesman Damian Green told BBC News. "The van was then driven a very short distance ... onto a bit of an unmade street," Detective Chief Inspector Bill McGreavy said.
"The passenger has kept his head down and can then hear noises at the back of the van. And after a couple of minutes, when he raises his head, he can see that there's nobody there."
A spokeswoman for 3M Security Printing & Systems confirmed that no personal details were in the blank documents.
The passport service said the stolen documents could not be used by thieves because of their hi-tech embedded chip security features.The passport service said the stolen documents could not be used by thieves because of their hi-tech embedded chip security features.
But fraud experts say they can still be used as a form of identification and even for travel in countries where the chip technology is not used.But fraud experts say they can still be used as a form of identification and even for travel in countries where the chip technology is not used.
You've got desperate people all over the world trying to get British passports Tom CraigEx-Scotland Yard officer
"That is because they can be used by putting in biographical information of your own, not necessarily getting the chip information right, and then you can use them to open up bank accounts or actually get employment," Tom Craig, an ex-Scotland Yard fraud officer told BBC Radio 4's Today programme."That is because they can be used by putting in biographical information of your own, not necessarily getting the chip information right, and then you can use them to open up bank accounts or actually get employment," Tom Craig, an ex-Scotland Yard fraud officer told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"Bearing in mind that these passports can be used anywhere in the world, if they come to the UK they are more likely to be picked up because the serial numbers will be recorded. " The newsagent where thieves targeted the security van
"The thing is the money, the end user, the end criminal - the guy who is going to get caught - is paying out a lot of money. And you've got desperate people all over the world trying to get British passports," Mr Craig added."The thing is the money, the end user, the end criminal - the guy who is going to get caught - is paying out a lot of money. And you've got desperate people all over the world trying to get British passports," Mr Craig added.
New passport type Keith Vaz, a Labour MP and chairman of the influential Commons Home Affairs Committee, said he would be writing to the home secretary to ask for a full-scale inquiry into UK passport security.
Greater Manchester Police said the raid took place in Long Lane - nearly half a mile away from the factory making the documents. "I find it extraordinary that the theft of so many passports was even possible," Mr Vaz said.
Twenty-four boxes of printed material were stolen from a Citroen van parked in Gorse Street in the Chadderton area of Oldham - the street on which the passport printing company 3M SPSL is based. "This government has put the eradication of illegal immigration at the top of the political agenda. It is therefore completely unacceptable that such sensitive documents are transported in a way that puts them at risk of theft."
A man forced the driver out and took the vehicle. The theft is the latest in a series of security breaches but Labour's deputy leader, Harriet Harman, has defended government policies on security.
The documents were being taken from Manchester to RAF Northolt, west London, where they were to be sent to British embassies. "I think that this is a robbery - a serious crime - and it will be being investigated. But I don't think that it necessarily shows a sloppy attitude. I think it's a crime which is a serious one and will be looked into and we hope obviously - that the police will be able to apprehend the offenders."
The passports were the new electronic variety which contain a chip replicating the data printed on the document itself. The Conservatives regard the theft as another example of lax government security.