De La Rue in talks over COVID travel certificates

Ministers have asked passport makers to provide Britons with secure certificates to prove they are not carrying coronavirus and help pave the way for a return to normality next year.

The Telegraph quotes City sources saying companies including De La Rue are discussing certificates guaranteeing travellers have taken tests for the disease and are not infected.

The documents are expected to contain the holograph and security stamp technology the company incorporated in British passports, before it controversially lost the contract to Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto two years ago.

The Telegraph adds that photos incorporating biometric data – such as the distance between facial features – could even be used to guarantee the identity of the document holder. Sources said De La Rue was one of the companies approached by Cabinet Office officials about the feasibility of such documents.

However, talks are at an early stage and could come to nothing, with uncertainty among officials about how to navigate an exit from the pandemic.

Telegraph