FORMER national security minister Gary Griffith said the issue surrounding diplomatic passports could be resolved by aligning the validity of the documents with the term of office of the individuals to whom they are issued.

Last week, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar told the Express that there has been abuse of the issuance of diplomatic passports and indicated that former prime ministers Dr Keith Rowley and Stuart Young would be required to surrender their diplomatic passports. She said they would instead be issued official passports, in keeping with Government's revised policy.

In addressing the issue yesterday, Griffith suggested diplomatic passports issued to office holders and their families should carry an expiry date corresponding to the approximate end of the holder's tenure in office. He said such a system would eliminate the need for authorities to retrieve diplomatic passports from individuals after they leave public office.