{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/9475d117-fcd4-4915-a6f3-923941e7aa0d/6269571003aa7300124c756c?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Holidaymakers’ passport backlog hell - what’s the solution?","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/61ba05fc1a8cbed4343cf0e6/5883ea1e-0ebe-4d27-9746-2bf0605b19e6.jpg?height=200","description":"<p>Her Majesty’s Passport Office is suffering huge delays following Brexit and the pandemic.</p><p>Now amid the cost-of-living squeeze, the prime minister is threatening to privatise the service if bosses can’t get a grip on the backlog.</p><p>Passport Office phone lines are jammed, and even its £142-a-go fast-track website has crashed - so holidaymakers are understandably getting very nervous their travel documents will be returned in time.</p><p>So what is the solution for getting the service back on an even keel?</p><p>The Evening Standard’s deputy political editor, David Bond, joins the Leader to discuss the latest.</p>","author_name":"The Evening Standard"}