MANY people over the summer experienced long delays when applying for a new or replacement passport, which in extreme cases ruined some family holidays. Now it emerges that people in certain parts of Bradford suffered even longer delays as three of the city’s postcodes appear on a “watch list” drawn up by the Passport Office.

People who applied for passports from the BD3, BD9 and BD14 postcodes could have been subject to more stringent checks as the Passport Office has apparently targeted these areas as being at risk of potential fraud.

It is understandable in the current climate that more rigorous checks should be in place for security reasons before passports are handed out to applicants. But there are obviously questions to be answered regarding the situation that has come to light.

Has everyone from these postcodes who applied for a passport been subjected to delays and longer checks? Is there an actual record of a higher number of fraudulent applications from these particular areas? Or was the decision to put them on the watch list based simply on the ethnicity of many of the population who live in these wards? And is it really fair to the law-abiding majority to be so inconvenienced on the basis of suspicion?

Even if we accept that some more rigorous checks do need to be taken in some instances, it does not excuse the delays that many people have been subjected to.

Surely it must be ensured that the Passport Office has all the necessary staff and resources to turn around applications in a reasonable time and not put travel plans at risk in what amounts to a postcode lottery?