HOME Secretary Jack Straw took personal charge of Britain's passport crisis - and revealed that the head of the troubled agency at the centre of the mayhem was being replaced.
Hundreds of East Lancashire holidaymakers have been caught up in the passport fiasco.
It is estimated that 530,000 are still waiting for passports and fear their holidays could be ruined.
As angry queues grew as passport offices nationwide, the Blackburn MP ordered emergency measures to cut the backlog.
And he revealed that the passport agency's Chief Executive David Gatenby - who has presided over the fiasco - agreed to retire as the scale of the crisis grew.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article