Theresa May outlines measures to deal with passport fiasco
Urgent applications to be fast-tracked free of charge
Twelve-month extension for overseas passports needing renewal
William Hague and Nick Clegg oppose military intervention in Iraq
4.07pm BST
I am wrapping up this live blog. Here is the closing summary. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Home secretary Theresa May outlined steps to deal with the huge backlog in passport applications in an emergency statement to the House of Commons: People applying to renew passports overseas for travel to the UK will be given a twelve-month extension to existing passports; people who need to travel urgently will have their applications upgraded free of charge; additional staff will be transferred from back office to front line operations; two reviews will be held, one on the Passport Office's efficiency and one on whether its agency status should be removed so it is brought into the Home Office. May said the delays stemmed from the highest demand for new passports in 12 years.
3.44pm BST
Foreign secretary William Hague says Britain will boost aid to Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents in the north. He was speaking at the global summit to end sexual violence. On Iraq, he said the UK will not provide military aid. Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, called on Iraq to form a new government: "Iraq's leaders must now come together quickly to form a new government and act to address the violent and instability which risks spreading further unless appropriate action is now taken by the Iraqi authorities."
3.28pm BST
The BBC's James Landale explains why passports are such a sensitive subject.
Ministers can remember the computer problems in the late 1990s that led to queues around the block at the Passport Office and caused Labour such a political headache.
They know that although the relative numbers affected may be statistically low, the impact on their lives can be great. Holidays can be missed. Jobs and contracts can be lost. Loved ones can die before they are visited. And that can make for some very angry voters...
3.10pm BST
Sky News's Anushka Asthana is checking out a passport-related rumour.
I love this- rumour Home office cancelled 'excellence awards' at hq tonight so managers can focus on passports. I'm checking w them if true.
3.01pm BST
My colleague, Patrick Wintour, has written about Ed Miliband's address to the GMB union. in which he promised to do whatever it takes to stop zero-hours spreading like wildfire through the economy. Here is the top of the story.
Ed Miliband vowed he will end the epidemic of insecurity sweeping through Britain in a speech that may answer critics in the party that he is not doing enough to woo traditional working-class voters who are defecting to Ukip.
In a set piece speech to the GMB union, greeted by a warm if brief standing ovation, he promised to act on low pay, exploitation of migrant workers, zero-hours and housing shortages. He also drew applause when he vowed to repeal the coalition's privatisation of the NHS.
2.33pm BST
Theresa May makes Commons emergency statement on passports backlog
2.20pm BST
The Department for International Development has deployed a humanitarian team in Iraq to assess the needs of civilians fleeing the north.
"Hundreds of thousands of people, including vulnerable women and children, are being forced to flee their homes as fighting spreads across Northern Iraq," said Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary. "Last night I deployed a team of humanitarian experts to assess the situation on the ground and coordinate with our partners. We are monitoring the situation very closely and stand ready to provide whatever help is needed."
2.01pm BST
Ed Balls has distanced Labour from proposals to increase National Insurance contributions to raise money for the NHS. The shadow chancellor was asked during the final day of the Queen's Speech debate on the economy and living standards whether he supported former Labour minister Frank Field's proposed scheme. PA reports:
Speaking during the final day of the Queen's Speech debate on the economy and living standards, Conservative Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) asked Mr Balls: "Will you let us know clearly what Labour's views are on increases on National Insurance from employers?"
Mr Balls replied: "I'll be happy to do so. I know that Frank Field, who I respect a great deal, has a proposal but that is not my proposal and it is not Labour's proposal at all. We know there are pressures in the National Health Service and £3bn has been wasted on an NHS reorganisation. But we also know there is a cost-of-living crisis, people are paying hundreds of pounds more a year because of (the Government's) VAT rise and what we want to do is cut taxes for working people."
12.42pm BST
Home secretary Theresa May outlined steps to deal with the huge backlog in passport applications: People applying to renew passports overseas for travel to the UK will be given a twelve-month extension to existing passports; people who need to travel urgently will have their applications upgraded free of charge; additional staff will be transferred from back office to front line operations; two reviews will be held, one on the Passport Office's efficiency and one on whether its agency status should be removed so it is brought into the Home Office.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that Britain should not send troops to Iraq in response to gains by Islamist insurgents. "I don't think having made one mistake, you repeat it by making a second one," he said, referring to the US-led invasion in 2003. He said a response has to be through the UN and other multilateral organisations. Clegg, speaking on his LBC radio show, also thought the use of second hand German water cannon - an idea backed by London mayor Boris Johnson - was "fanciful".
12.13pm BST
More reaction to May's statement.
A week ago Home Office said passport delays not an issue. Now, Theresa May considering removing Passport Office agency status #passportgate
12.10pm BST
Worth noting. Although May said urgent passport applications would be processed free of charge, she sidestepped repeated questions from MPs what the difference would be between "straightforward" and "urgent requests". She merely said clarification would be provided on the web.
12.01pm BST
Channel 4 News's take on May and passports.
No "big bang single solution" to passport backlog, Theresa May admits as Labour smells blood. http://t.co/1Edx4pPm2G #c4news
11.57am BST
Staff who leaked pictures of passport applications face disciplinary action.
Staff at passport office in Liverpool threatened with disciplinary action over leaked pics. #skybreaking pic.twitter.com/jFdy1VtjRD
11.55am BST
May's passport statement. Key points.
250 additional staff transferred from back office roles to front line operations and 650 additional staff to work on customer helpline.
11.36am BST
Reaction to May's emergency statement.
Theresa May announces a further 200 staff to be drafted in to deal with passport backlog - this is beginning to resemble M Hulot's Holiday
11.35am BST
Meanwhile Labour leader Ed Miliband has been speaking at the GMB union's national conference. He pledged that Labour will increase the minimum wage if it wins the general election. PA reports:
He told delegates at the Nottingham conference that a Labour government would also act on loopholes in rules on agency workers which he said were used to undermine the pay of permanent employees.
Aides said Mr Miliband's pledge on the minimum wage was more "vivid" than previously stated.
11.31am BST
May again stresses that most straightforward applications are taking three weeks. Labour MPs keep bringing up examples of delays. Labour MP Seema Malhotra cites delays of six months. Bercow now wraps up this session to address Yvette Cooper's question. The main points are that urgent travel requests will be processed free of charge and that she has asked the Home Office's permanent secretary Mark Sedwill to conduct two reviews. The first is to make sure the Passport Office "works as efficiently as possible, with better customer services, better processes and better outcomes.
"And secondly to consider whether HMPO's agency status should be removed so it can be brought into the Home Office, reporting directly to ministers, in line with other parts of the immigration system since the abolition of the UK Border Agency."
11.22am BST
Henry Smith, Conservative, says part of the reason behind high demand is that people feel better off. But Labour MP Bridget Phillipson brings the focus back to delays. Some of her constituents have been waiting for six weeks and may lose their holiday. May insists that definition of straightforward applications has not changed and that these should take only three weeks to process.
11.12am BST
Ann Clwyd, Labour, raises case of a constituent who put application in February and still has not received the passport. May says this is not good enough. May reminds MPs that the government cut cost of passport fees. John McDonnell, Labour, says front line staff predicted these problems because of staff cuts. May says the review will take in information from front line staff - not just unions.
11.07am BST
George Mudie, Labour, says many people made their applications within the three-week period but then had to pay extra £55 to speed things up. John Leech, Lib Dem, says people are being treated differently. Those who got help from MPs received quicker treatment, he points out. May admits that this should not have to be the case.
11.04am BST
Mark Pawsey, Conservative, says Passport Office managed to address urgent passport needs of two of his constituents. But a Labour MP says one of his constituents may miss his honeymoon because of delays. May urges the constituent to get in touch with Passport Office.
10.57am BST
PA has more on fast-track for those who need to travel urgently:
People with an urgent need to travel abroad will have their passport applications fast-tracked free of charge, Home Secretary Theresa May has said, as HM Passport Office scrambles to deal with a backlog of 30,000 applications.
In an emergency Commons statement, Mrs May told MPs: "Where people have an urgent need to travel, HMPO has agreed to upgrade them - that is their application will be considered in full, it will be expedited in terms of it's processing, printing and delivery - free of charge."
10.56am BST
Bob Ainsworth, Labour, asks why it has taken so long to address the issue after problem was raised months ago. May said staff was increased, hours extended, couriers used as demand grew, but further steps need to be taken.
10.54am BST
May again says demand for passports is highest for 12 years. A Lib Dem, Julian Huppert again asks the Home Secretary to define what constitutes urgent travel (which will mean faster processing). Labour MP Meg Hiller asks animatedly what May will do to make sure this won't happen again. May recaps points she made in her statement. No grand gesture, just a series of measures to sort out the problem.
10.49am BST
Gerald Kaufman, Labour, brings up "bungled" procedure that has affected his constituent. Blames May's "arrogance". May again says there has been unprecedented pressure for new passports. Lib Dem Julian Huppert asks what "urgent" need for travel means. May says this will be made clear on the Passport Office website.
10.44am BST
John Bercow has to appeal for order as May tries to respond to questions raised by Cooper. Laughter as May explains that changes to overseas applications - one of the causes of delays - were brought in to improve the process.
10.40am BST
Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary, calls it a shambles. Says May can't even bring herself to say sorry. "Can she tell us how bad it really is... how long before things get back to normal." "She has been distracted by other things", a reference perhaps to spat with Michael Gove, the education secretary.
10.38am BST
May says there has been unprecedented demand. Next week Liverpool is opening a new office to process applications. Overwhelming cases are being dealt with in three-week period. "No big bang single solution," she says. People applying applying from overseas will be given 12-month extension. Emergency travel documents for children from overseas. This will free up up officials to deal with other applications. More staff are being drafted in. Long term, can't throw more staff at the problem. She says she is asking for two reviews - lots of jeers. One to ensure that Passport Office is working efficiently and two whether it should be brought into Home Office.
10.33am BST
Home secretary Theresa May is about to answer Labour's urgent question on passport delays.
9.59am BST
More on that court of appeal ruling. AB can be named as Erol Incedal and CD as Mounir Rarmoul-Bohadjar.
9.55am BST
The court of appeal has ruled that most of a major terrorism trial can be held behind closed doors. The Press Association reports:
But the defendants, currently anonymised as AB and CD, can be identified, three judges in London said.
Media organisations had contested the "unprecedented" decision by Mr Justice Nicol last month at the Old Bailey relating to the pending trial of two defendants identified only as AB and CD.
9.36am BST
Inevitably there is a World Cup question. "We are going to pull off a surprise" and he predicts a 2-1 England win over Italy. And that's it for Call Clegg.
9.34am BST
Clegg is asked about Oxfam's criticism of the government's austerity programme. He says the government has to bring down public debt and trumpets decisions to bring down taxes for the poorest. Caller says she is gobsmacked by Clegg's answer, says "we are always hitting the lowest". "Got to go after the top first". Clegg insists that the richest are paying more tax.
9.26am BST
An email question about secret trials. The Court of Appeal rules on a challenge today against an unprecedented decision to hold a major terrorism trial in secret. In principle he does not like trials behind closed doors unless there are exceptional reasons. On the passport delays, Clegg notes the abnormal level of applications. "We must throw every measure that we can" to deal with the problem, says the deputy PM, who expresses sympathy for those waiting. Home Office is working seven days a week, he stresses. He ducks question on whether staff cuts aggravated the problem. Blames unexpected 300,000 applications.
9.21am BST
Clegg now discusses Britishness in the wake of the Trojan horse affair in Birmingham. He favours a balanced curriculum. As important as 20 minutes on British values even "if we can get the details right". He emphasises the importance of tolerance and diversity.
9.17am BST
Water cannons. Who has authorisation to use them, asks caller. Clegg says use of second hand German water cannon is not the answer to riots. Their use is limited in dealing with small groups moving around in fluid situation, he says. "Fanciful" is the word he uses. Not persuaded that they are the answer. Boris Johnson is in favour and says he is willing to take a soaking.
9.12am BST
Next question is about the taxi strike yesterday - from a cabbie - over the Uber app. Clegg says going on strike and snarling the day was not the right thing to do. The caller is very cross with Transport for London for allowing Uber to be used.
9.07am BST
Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg is taking questions on Call Clegg on LBC. The first question is on Iraq. Should we go back in and sort it out. "No I don't think we should go back into Iraq," he says. Clegg says Syria has incubated the crisis in Iraq with its knock-on effect. Clegg questions legality of Iraq invasion but won't go so far to say it was illegal. "Only way this is going to subside is if violence in Syria" eases. Going into Iraq now would be compounding initial mistake, says the deputy PM.
8.58am BST
This passport fiasco is "deja vu all over again". Labour faced its own passport meltdown in 1999 when then home secretary Jack Straw had to issue an apology over long delays which he blamed on teething problems with a new Siemens computer system, the introduction of compulsory passports for children and an unexplained rise in people going abroad.
8.35am BST
Other items coming up today: The Court of Appeal rules on a challenge against an unprecedented decision to hold a major terrorism trial in secret; more than 1,000 military personnel are set to lose their jobs in the fourth and final round of the government's armed forces redundancy programme, to be announced today; Ed Miliband faces questions about a looming strike by public sector workers and abuses of zero hours contracts when he speaks at the GMB union conference.
8.14am BST
Andrew Sparrow is away so I will be filling in today. The usual caveat applies in his absence - apologies in advance for errors, omissions and lack of instant and insightful analysis that you may be used to here.
The backlog in passport applications continues to dog the government. Both the Guardian and the Telegraph have front page stories on the latest twist in passport delays that could lead to the cancellation of many holidays. Nick Clegg has his LBC call-in radio show, so he can be expected to be asked about that and possibly proposals for the use of water cannon to deal with protesters. Iraq may be on the agenda too. My colleague Matthew Weaver is covering latest developments there on his live blog.
A briefing note sent to staff on Monday told Passport Office workers to drop checks on countersignatories, as well as requirements for evidence of addresses and letters of confirmation from employers and accountants.
An hour after the leaked document was published on the Guardian's website on Wednesday night, the Home Office issued a terse statement saying that ministers had no knowledge of the instructions and had ordered managers at the Passport Office to withdraw it immediately.
The ambassadors and high commissioners confronted Mr Pugh with evidence of widespread delays in the wake of a decision to shut down overseas passport centres.
A letter from Antony Phillipson, the High Commissioner to Singapore, disclosed that the talks focused on a new centralised processing system which is now thought to be at the heart of delays causing concern to tens of thousands of Britons who fear they may not get their passports before going on holiday.
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