Cuts could see 8,000 fewer passports processed per day

Meanwhile, the shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the Home Office "shouldn't make it worse in the middle of a passport crisis".

- RORY SULLIVAN

Government staffing cuts could lead to a significant reduction in the number of passports being processed, jeopardising Britons' holiday plans, Labour has said. The opposition party's warning comes as complaints mount about the current passport processing backlog.

Given the passport crisis, Labour said it would be "damaging" for the Conservatives to reduce the number of staff working at the Passport Office.

This follows the government's announcement earlier this month that it wanted to reduce the number of jobs in the civil service by up to 91,000 over the next three years. In preparation for these cuts, Downing Street has reportedly asked every government department to draw up plans to lower staffing by between 20 and 40 per cent.