The price of obtaining or renewing a British passport is to rise by more than 20 percent to pay for improvements to boost security measures and tackle fraud.

The cost of a new ten-year adult passport will go up by more than nine pounds to ?51 from December 1, the UK Passport Service (UKPS) said on Thursday.

The increase follows a similar rise in 2003.

The extra money will pay for enhanced background checks on applicants, face-to-face interviews with first time applicants and the gradual introduction of biometric passports from February 2006.

Bermuda Deputy Governor Nick Carter said he had not yet been told about the rise. British people living in Bermuda renew their passports by sending them to Washington.