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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Shanti Das

Ministers knew about UK passport helpline firm’s poor performance a year ago

HM Passport Office logo and a blurred UK passport in the background
About 50,000 people have waited more than 10 weeks to get passports, MPs were told last week. Photograph: Alamy

Warnings about the “unsatisfactory” performance of the private firm running the beleaguered Passport Office advice line were made to government ministers more than a year ago, it can be revealed.

Teleperformance, a French-owned multinational, failed to meet targets for responding to calls and emails as early as May 2021, according to official documents seen by the Observer.

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