Passport Agency hires 300 staff to cope with backlog

The Passport Agency said last week it would hire 300 extra staff and introduce emergency measures to deal with massive backlogs of passports - the Liverpool office has topped the 100,000 mark. The summer holiday rush has been exacerbated by the introduction of a new management and printing system supplied by Siemens Business Services. Other passport offices are due to get the system later this year or early in 2000.