“…yup, zip to do with Brexit.”
Except – that if we were not leaving the new design would have to have, top line of the cover and page one inside “European Union”. Never has been necessary and now it certainly won’t be.
“We have to have new passports when we leave the EU,…”
Why is that, Naomi? As I have mentioned in other questions on this subject, the only reference to the EU in UK passports is on the front cover and the first page inside. The only reference is the words “European Union” at the top. There is no reason why existing passports cannot remain valid until they expire and no reason why the design of new passports issued after 2019 needs to have anything done other than those two words removed. Two minutes work, I would imagine.
However, if a new design is to be rolled out then it would make sense to issue passports that do not look like the homogenised Europap that we have issued with in recent years. All countries’ passports should look distinctive. One thing is for sure and that is that the size and shape will remain the same. These features were agreed internationally (i.e. beyond the EU) to facilitate them being read by machines.