UK to get traditional navy blue passports back after Brexit

Navy blue passports will be issued once more after Britain leaves the EU in 2019, the Home Office has confirmed.

Immigration Minister Brandon Lewis described the return to the traditional blue passport as a “unique opportunity to restore our national identity”.

The burgundy shade, which was introduced in 1988 under EU requirements, will be gradually phased out from October 2019 onwards.

Demands for a return to the blue passport were a major part of the Leave campaign ahead of the EU referendum in June 2016.

Mr Lewis said: "One of the most iconic things about being British is having a British passport.

“So from the first day we leave, new passports will look different and within months they will be very different, because they will be dark blue again.

"We wanted to return to the dark blue passport because we recognise the strong attachment people had to it."