Hongkongers react angrily to news UK was warned about passport delays in January
Brits caught in travel chaos irate that consulate kept them in the dark when it stopped service
Hong Kong residents who have waited months to renew their British passports are angry London did not warn them earlier about potential delays for overseas applications.
British Home Secretary Theresa May on Thursday introduced special measures to fast-track urgent cases for travellers based in the UK.
In Hong Kong, anyone renewing an existing passport will be able to apply to the British consulate for it to be extended for 12 months. No additional fees will be charged.
Families and individuals have been forced to postpone holidays and business trips. One person missed a family funeral because of the delay. Some have resorted to getting an emergency travel document, which costs almost as much as a replacement.
Many of Hong Kong's 3.2 million British National (Overseas) passport holders, issued before the 1997 handover, and 250,000 Britons have been left in limbo as Her Majesty's Passport Office, based in Liverpool, struggles to clear a backlog of applications.
The responsibility for issuing passports overseas was transferred to the office after consulates around the world stopped processing applications in December. It now has to deal with 350,000 applications from overseas a year.