News MP to the rescue of passport theft victim
Goole MP Ian Cawsey was praised last week when he managed to salvage the second week of a local resident's holiday to Mexico.
Tony Gardener was left distraught recently when he went to Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster with his family, ready for a two-week holiday in Mexico, only to find after checking in that his passport had been stolen whilst he underwent a security scan in passport control. The passport was in a tray that went through an X-ray machine but had been removed by the time he came to collect it.
"It was a nightmare. I couldn't believe that a passport could be stolen in this way and in a matter of seconds," said Tony.
"So whilst the rest of my family travelled to Mexico, I had to try to get a replacement passport and there was no way the Passport Agency would do so quickly enough for me to have at least part of the holiday."
At his wits' end, Tony decided to contact Goole MP Ian Cawsey for help in salvaging at least some of his holiday. Thanks to fast-acting on Mr Cawsey's part, Tony was last week able to fly out and enjoy the second week of his family holiday.
Tony added: "I cannot praise Ian and Rita enough. Within hours of taking up the case, an appointment was made for me in Liverpool.
"When I got there, the staff were actually waiting for me and everything was processed there and then. It was brilliant and a huge relief.
"I'm really looking forward to my holiday and I'll be toasting Ian's health when I get there!"
Mr Cawsey said: "I was very pleased to be able to assist and I am grateful to the Passport Agency for the efforts they made once I had explained the full circumstances relating to this case. There is a serious point to all this as well: identity theft is a real and growing issue.
"New technology can help and the move towards biometric passports will make the passport useless to anyone other than the holder as they have to be matched to eye, face and fingerprint recognition. But traditional passports are going to be around for a while yet so Tony's story illustrates the need to be vigilant with travel documents at all times.
"Nevertheless, it's great that he's got away and I hope he and his family have a great time.'
Published on 9th August 2007 in News.
Add to: Digg | del.icio.us | Reddit
Comments
There are currently no comments
Comments are closed for this article.