The new blue British passports that Prime Minister Theresa May called "an expression of our independence and sovereignty" after Brexit will be made by a Franco-Dutch firm, the boss of the British company which lost the contract said Thursday.
May announced in December that Britain, which adopted burgundy passports in 1988, would switch back to the "iconic" blue ones that it had before joining the bloc.
British passports are now made by De La Rue PLC, which despite its French name is a British company that prints them in northern England. The company's CEO said it lost the tender for the new version after being undercut on price.