Boris Johnson has threatened to “privatise the arse” out of the Passport Office if it cannot clear its backlog and deliver better value for money, a senior Government source has said. The Prime Minister also put the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and other “arm’s length” bodies on notice in comments to Cabinet ministers, according to the source who attended Tuesday’s meeting.
Mr Johnson is understood to be “horrified” at the backlog in dealing with passport applications and will summon the agency’s leadership for urgent talks at No 10 on Thursday. He is said to be concerned that families wanting to go on summer holidays are under pressure to pay up to £100 extra per passport for fast-track applications because of delays.
The source cautioned that privatisation would not be the starting point, but warned that Downing Street could look to businesses to take over if passport bosses could not meet the 10-week target for standard applications costing £75.50. Mr Johnson was also said to have criticised “post-Covid manana culture” at some of the bodies for not adapting after the easing of coronavirus restrictions.
