March of the robots: how biometric tech could kill off paper passports

Border Force boss says advances in biometrics and data security have made passports redundant - be they blue or red

The UK's newly minted blue passports, one of the totemic achievements of Brexit, could soon be unnecessary, according to the UK's top border official.

While Britons queue again for officials to stamp their documents to permit them to cross the Channel, the director general of Border Force, Phil Douglas, said developments in biometrics and data security have made the paper passport effectively redundant - if still politically charged.