Passport chips only guaranteed for two years
THE NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE (NAO) published a report saying chips incorporated in British passports only have a two year warranty even though the documents have a 10 year life.
It also warned that the government may face liabilities from intellectual property rights claims owned by contractors.
It also warned that there's insufficient evidence how effective the e-Passports will be, because the ability of readers to cope with large volumes is still largely untested.
It wants the government to negotiate an increase in the warranty period because if chips fail after the two year period it will be taxpayers' money that pays for replacements. The chips, said the NAO, are designed to withstand "reasonable exposure to extremes of temperature, humidity, x-rays, electric and magnetic fields and other environmental factors."
