British passports to become gender-free

PA
If you're applying for a British passport in the future you may no longer have to declare what your gender you are.

This new legislation follows pressure from the Lib Dems who hope to spare transgender people the indignity of having to explain discrepancies on their passport.

Currently you must state whether you are male or female even if you are undergoing a sex change operation.

In the future, the move will potentially mean that everyone will simply be defined as 'x' instead of 'm' or 'f'.

According to the Daily Mail, a consultation on changing the rules has begun as the Lib Dems promise to be 'fierce champions of equality'.

Those in support of the move say it will solve the problem of time-wasting at border controls, where people whose sex appears to differ from that in their passport are grilled for long periods by guards.

But some Home Office officials are concerned the change may actually make life harder for the already stretched UK Border Agency by giving them fewer pieces of information to work with.

The Home Office said: 'We are exploring with international partners and relevant stakeholders the security implications of gender not being displayed in the passport.'

This follows recent reports that Australia are planning to allow three gender options on Australian passports.