Home Office contractor suspends staff after ‘Israel’ defaced on birth certificate

Sopra Steria launches investigation after father’s birth country scribbled out and document torn

Staff have been suspended and an inquiry has been launched by a Home Office contractor over claims that the word “Israel” was defaced on a baby’s birth certificate after it was submitted in a passport application.

The Paris-based contractor Sopra Steria said it was “shocked and saddened” by the allegations and had started a “full investigation into the handling of the documentation and are treating this incident with the utmost seriousness”.