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Earlier this week, a UK Government source said Boris Johnson had threatened to “privatise the arse” out of the Passport Office if it was unable to clear its backlog and deliver better value for money.

The prime minister is understood to be “horrified” at the backlog in dealing with passport applications at the public-sector agency, which has a regional office in central Newport.

The source said privatisation would not be the starting point, but warned that Downing Street could look to businesses to take over if passport bosses could not meet the 10-week target for standard applications costing £75.50.

Mr Johnson is also said to be concerned families wanting to go on summer holidays are under pressure to pay up to £100 extra per passport for fast-track applications because of delays.

Prime minister Boris Johnson. Picture: Adrian Dennis/PA Wire

But union bosses have branded the prime minister’s privatisation threat as "absurd".

“It is clear to our members that a crucial service like the Passport Office needs to be properly resourced,” said Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS).

“It is absurd for Boris Johnson to threaten to privatise HM Passport Office, when it is clear that the current problems are mainly down to increased casualisation of the workforce.

“Many people are desperate to now start travelling again, and so I would call on the Home Office to fulfil their duties to the UK public and adequately fund the service, bringing the whole process back in-house.”

Newport West MP Ruth Jones has defended staff at the city's Passport Office. Picture: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

City MP Ruth Jones told parliament this week "the staff working at the Passport Office in my constituency of Newport West have been working incredibly hard under difficult circumstances, but they require additional staff to deal with the record demand".

She later told the Argus she was opposed to "any suggestion" of privatising the Passport Office, and instead called for extra recruitment to help ease the backlog.

“There's no evidence that privatisation will help shift the backlog, but yet again the Government are passing the buck when they should be dealing with the issue themselves," she said.

“The backlog is a serious problem and has affected the whole of Newport as well as the rest of the country, but we shouldn't blame hard-working staff."