Hackney and Islington postcodes targeted by Passport Office for ‘additional checks’

A hundred postcode districts across the country have been highlighted by the Passport Office as areas to prioritise for fraud investigations - nearly a quarter of which are in Hackney and Islington.

In total, nine areas of the two boroughs have been earmarked for extra scrutiny on new passport applications for children, according to information recently uncovered and seen by the Gazette.

The list of post codes, including N1, N4, N19, E1, E5, E8, E9, E10 and E15, given to staff at the Passport Office is made up mainly of ethnically diverse areas and has been criticised by Hackney MP, Diane Abbott, as potentially discriminatory.

A spokesperson for the Passport Office said: “Protecting the integrity of the UK passport is vital.

“Preventing and detecting fraudulent applications protects the public and, in the case of child passports, safeguards children.

“All applications are subject to a number of security checks and no one factor alone will determine the outcome of an individual application, a range of evidence is considered and taken into account.”