Home Office Under Pressure as Trial Highlights How Easy It Is to Get a Bogus Passport

Prosecutor says FOG passports were 'to all intents and purposes genuine'

A British passport in front of a screen displaying the UK Home Office's website, in an undated file photo. PA

The UK Passport Office has set up a new unit to tackle organised crime after a gang used a flaw in the system to obtain passports for several international fugitives, which allowed them to keep one step ahead of the law.

Three men—Christopher Zietek, Anthony Beard, and Alan Thompson—were jailed at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday for conspiring to obtain fraudulently obtained genuine passports, known as FOGs, between 2018 and 2021, following an operation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).