LATEST NEWS

6/01/07 — Renewals going strong

To mark the start of 2007, the year in which it is likely that we shall see the first ID interrogation centres open their doors, 'Renew for Freedom' has released an updated version of its popular factsheet.

"There's still time to renew your passport," said Phil Booth, NO2ID's National Coordinator, "But those who have not yet applied for their first adult passport should do so, or check back here regularly. The government has made it clear that you'll be head of the line for interrogation, so it would be sensible to apply for your first adult passport as soon as you can."

ACCREDITED PRESS & MEDIA

For further information, or for immediate or future interview, please contact Phil Booth (National Coordinator, [email protected]) on 07974 230 839 or Michael Parker (Press Officer, [email protected]) on 07773 376 166.

NEWS ARCHIVE

5/10/06 — Passport price doubles in three years

The latest in a series of steep price increases - to £66, from just half that in 2003 - came into force today. Campaign group NO2ID warned of more rises to come, as well as dramatic changes in how you get a passport.

"The £100 passport is not that far away," said Phil Booth, NO2ID's National Coordinator, "As the costs of the government's ID scheme begin to mount, you can bet it will keep cranking up this cynical and calculated tax on travel to fund its monstrous ID programme."

"The Home Office has already commissioned a network of 'enrolment' centres and, though its schedule has slipped several months over the summer, first time applicants for an adult passport will have to show up for interview at one of these 69 offices from early next year. These interrogations, and background checks with the credit reference agencies and other databases, are not only hugely expensive - they'll ultimately end up passing control of your identity to the state."

18/9/06 — Mandatory interviews for 16 year olds

With minimal fanfare a Home Office press release, ‘No idea where your ID is?', today announced that from next year children over 16 applying for their first adult passport will be forced to attend an interview at one of 69 new ‘enrolment’ centres.

Holidaymakers returning to work or school after the summer would do well to renew their passports before putting them away for another year because, from October 5th, the price of an adult passport will be raised again – from £51 to £66.

Phil Booth, NO2ID National Coordinator said:

“Now they’ll be interrogating kids, yet another so-called ‘security measure’ that will cause just as much mayhem as the ridiculous new rules on photos this summer. How many hoops must law-abiding British citizens jump through for the convenience of computers and officials on an ID power trip?"

“It’s only common sense to renew your passport now and buy yourself and your family 10 years' freedom from untold bureaucracy, punitive charges, invasion of privacy and the inevitable IT and administrative failures as the government merges our passports with its catastrophic ID scheme.”

24/7/06 — Huge passport price hike announced

Despite increasing the price of a passport by 21% to £51 as recently as December 2005, the Passport Office today announced a further price rise to £66 that will take effect from 5th October 2006. That's a massive 57% increase in just 10 months - and they haven't stopped yet!

This latest rise busts the projected price of £93 for a passport and ID card as, even if you believe the government's £30 figure for a 'standalone' card, simple maths shows a combined price of £96 at today's prices - which will be well over £100 by 2008/9, when the first cards are supposed to be introduced...

An extra £400 on the price of a family holiday? Renew this summer and you could save £200 - and save your kids an interrogation into the bargain. Compulsory interviews begin later this year for first time adult passports, as a precursor to the registration interviews for the National Identity Scheme.

31/5/06 — 'Renew in May' a resounding success

One month on, after demonstrations and public meetings across the UK, melt-down at the Home Office and the phone ringing off the hook in the NO2ID office, we're happy to declare that 'Renew in May' has exceeded all our expectations.

In the past four weeks, the Renew for Freedom site has received over 650,000 hits. Our supporters spread the message to more than 2.5 million people through e-mail and their websites. Websites and blogs around the world have been promoting the campaign —British citizens living abroad have been renewing too. Many thousands have renewed their passports, and we shall be seeking official confirmation of the figures in coming weeks.

But we're not done yet. As you can see, the Renew for Freedom site is still here —and will continue to be in months to come, providing the best advice about passport renewal, based on the most up-to-date information.

28/5/06 — Passport jobsworths strike again

Ross Clark in the Sunday Telegraph relates the sorry tale of trying to get his daughter a passport under the increasingly stringent rules applying to 'biometric' passports. [Full article here]

NO2ID have had reports from a number of renewers to say that UKIPS staff have actually rung them up to ask if they know that thay still have time left on their passports. Reactions to being told that this is deliberate have, apparently, ranged from complete bemusement to hearty support...

25/5/06 — Home Office 'questions' early renewal

After widespread coverage of yesterday's call to arms by the Lib Dems [e.g. The Mirror, The Guardian, Western Mail] the Home Office countered by trying to suggest that renewal might be "premature". If the government refuses to provide a start date for data being entered—or stored for later entry—on the National Identity Register, then what do they expect? And does the word 'premature' not imply that there may be good reason after all to avoid registration, when it comes?

24/5/06 — Lib Dem Home Affairs team renew en masse

Lib Dem home affairs spokesmen Nick Clegg, Lynne Featherstone and Mark Hunter join party president Simon Hughes and rural affairs spokesman Roger Williams at Victoria Passport Office to renew their passports. Mr Clegg, whose passport is not due for renewal until October 2012, said: "ID cards will be expensive, intrusive and ineffective. I urge everyone who is concerned about their introduction to join the NO2ID 'Renew for Freedom' campaign and renew their passport over the coming weeks." [Full article here]

21/5/06 — Press roundup

News of the Renew for Freedom campaign is spreading far and wide. Our eagle-eyed supporters have spied articles in publications as varied as The Telegraph, The Herald, Cambridge Evening News, The Register, PC Advisor(!), Indymedia, and on BBC News.

Don't forget that a letter to your local paper will be read by many thousands. If you are renewing your passport, then let people know —the more that read about the campaign, the more that will begin to wake up to the government's plans for ID control.

18/5/06 — Home Office 'meltdown' spreads to passports

A Parliamentary question from the SNP forced Home Office minister Joan Ryan to admit today that over 1,500 passports have somehow 'gone astray' on the way to their rightful holders between February 2004 and January 2006. [Full article here]

And—even more unbelievably—respected legal journal, Criminal Law Week, has revealed that in passing its Identity Cards Act the government has repealed the law that makes possession of a forged passport illegal. [Full article here]

16/5/06 — Green MSP slams heavy handed approach

Green MSP Patrick Harvie has criticised passport officials who locked out applicants during yesterday's demonstration against national ID cards.

When Mr Harvie joined Renew for Freedom protesters to hand in his application, security staff blocked the way. Today he accused officials of over-reacting, saying: "It's paranoid to think people demonstrating peacefully constituted a threat." [Full article here]

15/5/06 — Renewing for Freedom at Glasgow Passport Office

Campaigners, local politicans and members of the general public gathered at Glasgow Passport Office to renew their passports early. By some strange coincidence, the facility for handing in passport applications in person had been "suspended"—despite the fact that they had checked with the Passport Advice line just last week that applications could be handed in at the door... [Full article here]

9/5/06 — Countryside Alliance, Scottish Nationalist Party endorse RfF

Momentum continues to build as Renew for Freedom enters the second week of May. While NO2ID groups across the UK plan to hand in their passport applications en masse, the campaign is joined by the Countryside Alliance and the Scottish Nationalist Party.

5/5/06 — Visits to RfF site pass 250,000

Five days into May, as the dust settles from the local elections, news of the Renew for Freedom campaign continues to spread like wildfire. Since the factsheet was launched on 18th April, over a quarter of a million people have visited the RfF website. Hundreds of thousands of e-mails endorsing the campaign have been sent out by our supporters - who now include the radical Activist Network and the Green Party of England and Wales.

2/5/06 — LibDem MPs renew passports

In the run-up to this week's local elections, a number of Liberal Democrat MPs are making a point of renewing their passports early. Party president Simon Hughes [pictured left], gets his form ready for renewal while out on the campaign trail.

27/4/06 — UKIP MEPs blast UKIPS

The ten UK Independence Party Euro MPs today pledged their support for the "Renew for Freedom" campaign run by NO2ID. Gerard Batten MEP, who represents London and is the Party's Home Affairs spokesman said: "This campaign should bring home to this Government that its illiberal policy of forcing the introduction of ID cards is not supported by the great mass of the British people". He went on: "I hope that the newly renamed 'United Kingdom Identity and Passport Service', or UKIPS as it is now known, is inundated with renewal requests". [Full press release here]

25/4/06 — Stop the War Coalition, Freedom Association join campaign

Within a week of its announcement, Renew for Freedom has gained support from right across the political spectrum. Proving that opposition to the government's ID scheme is truly a non-party, non-partisan issue, NO2ID welcomes the Stop the War Coalition, The Freedom Association, Globalise Resistance, Our World Our Say and A World to Win to the campaign.

20/4/06 — Endorsements take off

Support for the Renew for Freedom campaign is growing rapidly. Announced just 48 hours ago, with the endorsement of the Liberal Democrats, Liberty, Privacy International, Stand and Corporate Watch, we are now grateful to have received support from the Scottish Green Party, UKIP, New Alliance and Statewatch.

18/4/06 — Renew for Freedom campaign declared

NO2ID national coordinator, Phil Booth, this evening announced the multi-organisation 'Renew for Freedom' campaign at a public meeting in Conway Hall, with the release of NO2ID's 'Factsheet 1'. An official launch with representatives from supporting organisations is to follow, as well as a series of events leading up to and during May 2006 — the month in which a broad coalition of ID opponents are encouraging people to renew their passport.

"Take a hike, Tony" factsheet for those
APPLYING for their first adult passport.
Please distribute as widely as possible:

DOWNLOAD factsheet — 39KB PDF file

PRINT factsheet from browser

Factsheet 2 - for those
RENEWING their passport:

DOWNLOAD factsheet — 39KB PDF file

DOWNLOAD factsheet — 56KB MS Word file

PRINT factsheet from browser — front page
PRINT factsheet from browser — back page

Factsheet for British citizens abroad:

DOWNLOAD factsheet — 53KB MS Word file