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Department issues rebuttal to claims that it misled the public over the changes to the colour of passports following Brexit

Former Royal Mail managing director Mark Thomson to become director general of Passport Office for three-year term

The first director general of Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) has been appointed following the Home Office taking control of the organisation on 1 October. 

HM Passport Office will be abolished and its operations absorbed by the Home Office from 1 October, it has been announced today, and the organisation’s chief executive Paul Pugh will be replaced by a newly-appointed director general.

Paul Pugh, chief executive of the Passport Office, has been accused of a “complete management failure” by the Home Affairs Select Committee. In a report published today, the committee calls for the office to be abolished and its functions to be returned to the direct control of ministers.

Passport workers are on a 24-hour strike today over a pay dispute and staff shortages, with the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) claiming these workers earn as much as £3,000 less than other Home Office staff doing similar roles.