Passport contract switch so ironic

Editor,

Annoyed though I am that the contract for Britain’s traditional blue passports is set to be awarded to a foreign company the irony has left me with a wry smile.

The reason that the Franco-Dutch company, Gemalto, has been nominated over a British company is because EU competition rules mean that the best-value bid had to be chosen.

Now we all want best value but we should be free to choose which company we want given the circumstances of the job involved. 

And if ever there was contract which should be filled by a British firm this is it. The new passports are a symbol of our freedom from EU rules and regulations but this decision shows that while we are heading for the door we cannot yet march to the beat of a different drummer.

Paul Nuttall, North West MEP

UK Independence Party

The views expressed are those of the author of the letter and not those of Oldham Chronicle.