3,000 blank passports stolen

Three thousand blank passports and visas have been stolen, the Foreign Office has admitted. However, the passport service said the passports could not be used by thieves as they have an embedded security chip. The documents were taken from a van yesterday as they were being transported from Manchester to London to be sent to embassies overseas.

The Identity and Passport Service said that as the passports were the new electronic variety which contain a chip replicating the data printed on the document itself, they were equipped with security features which would make them worthless on the black market.

Greater Manchester police have begun a joint investigation with the Serious Organised Crime Agency. The Foreign Office said the theft was a "serious breach of security", and has begun a review of security arrangements with the producers of the passports.