Thousands of missing British passports could have fallen into the hands of terrorists, it was claimed today.
Liberal Democrat spokesman Mr Paul Burstow called for an inquiry into how 11,500 passports had gone astray in the post over the past three years.
"Either there is incompetence on the part of Royal Mail sorting offices when they are delivering passports back to customers, or there is a black market trade in stolen passports," Mr Burstow said.
"Basic preventative security measures, like registered mail, must be put in place to prevent identities falling into criminal or terrorist hands."
According to the figures provided by the government in a written response to a question from Mr Burstow, 2,359 passports failed to arrive at their destinations in 1999, followed by 3,851 the following year, 2,541 in 2001 and 2,982 last year.
Britain's Home Office, or interior ministry, confirmed the figures but said they represented a small fraction of the 5.5 million passports issued on average each year.
The revelations come amid a tightening of security around British government buildings, institutions and landmarks, which has seen concrete blocks set up around the Houses of Parliament to thwart possible bombing attempts.
AFP