Blue British passports could have been re-introduced without Brexit: Govt

Britain could have changed the colour of its passports back to blue at any point of time irrespective of Brexit.

The United Kingdom (UK) willingly adopted common passport criteria from the European Economic Community (EEC) and had no obligation to keep it, the Independent quoted Home Office as confirming.

The guidance dictated that the cover of member states' passports should be "burgundy red" however the agreement was not legally binding and redesigns have been considered around every five years.

"But changing to blue would have looked odd, whereas now it doesn't look that odd," the Independent quoted the government official as saying.

Earlier the Home Office announced that the British passports will change from burgundy to blue after Britain leaves the European Union (EU).

The new passports will be issued to those renewing or applying for a passport from October 2019.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, in a Twitter post, wrote, "The UK passport is an expression of our independence and sovereignty - symbolising our citizenship of a proud, great nation. That's why we have announced that the iconic #bluepassport will return after we leave the European Union in 2019.