There was an article in The Economist a few weeks ago about how the UK treats its expats unusually poorly. I guess this is just another small example of that.

and there's nothing they can do if you don't.

There's no such requirement if you apply in the UK.

I would say it's so they don't have to offer consular assistance to dual nationals living in their other country though that doesn't explain why they need a copy of every page of your foreign passport.

They can refuse to issue your passport.

Don't think you're right on that one.

It's for intelligence purposes, according to my MP, who told me he thought it was a great idea (he's a minister) and thought he would pass it on to Passport Canada.

Which didn't put me in an entirely good mood and I pointed out at great length that it was an infringement of our sovereignty and I didn't serve in the military fighting terrorists so I could surrender any of my rights in the name of fighting terrorism, to quote Ben Franklin (or whoever it was) "he who surrenders an essential liberty to purchase temporary safety deserves neither" and moreover I didn't care if "80% of Canadians" support removing citizenship from dual citizens who are convicted of terrorist offences because the standard for dual citizenship is determined by Canada, not an international court and moreover the standard of conviction of a terrorist offence in Iraq for example is far removed from what it would be in Canada.

And to prove the point I quoted a current case in Canada where the government is claiming someone is Indian and the Indian government disagrees and guess what happened today... ‘Stateless’ Ottawa-born man loses bid for citizenship | Ottawa Citizen Rendered stateless. Because Canada says he's Indian and India says he isn't. Thereby proving my point.

Anyway the whole thing is f---ing pointless because the only reason for my having a British passport is so I can stand in a shorter line when entering certain countries but if they're going to hassle me about it, nuts to them. Like I said earlier in the thread, the British have a passport fetish and think you have to have one to travel internationally. Moreover they seem to think British passports are worth more than those of other nationalities so we have to meekly submit to whatever loopy requirements they come up with.

Wrong on both counts. And if Scotland separates, I can't wait to see what the Scottish think about having to provide their Scottish passport in order to get their UK one renewed.

Unless you're a football hooligan or are about to go off to become a jihadi in the Middle East then that's highly unlikely.

Happy to be corrected but I've never seen evidence to the contrary.

Is this your British or Canadian MP? Either way if they are relying on would-be terrorists to willing provide copies of their second passports I can't imagine it will be all that effective.

Well since the UK isn't part of the Schengen Agreement and there's no British national identity card scheme then unless you're going to Ireland then you will need a passport. More a practicality than a fetish. Again, if you don't want them to have a copy of your Canadian passport, then don't submit it.

I'm told it's highly likely if I fail to follow the law.

A passport application may be refused or an existing passport may be withdrawn. These are the persons who may be refused a British passport or who may have their existing passport withdrawn:

i a minor whose journey was known to be contrary to a court order, to the wishes of a parent or other person or authority in whose favour a residence or care order had been made or who had been awarded custody; or care and control; or

ii a person for whose arrest a warrant had been issued in the United Kingdom, or a person who was wanted by the United Kingdom police on suspicion of a serious crime; or

iii a person who is the subject of:

- a court order, made by a court in the United Kingdom, or any other order made pursuant to a statutory power, which imposes travel restrictions or restrictions on the possession of a valid United Kingdom passport; or
bail conditions, imposed by a police officer or a court in the United Kingdom, which include travel restrictions or restrictions on the possession of a valid United Kingdom passport; or
- an order issued by the European Union or the United Nations which prevents a person travelling or entering a country other than the country in which they hold citizenship; or
- a declaration made under section 15 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

iv A person may be prevented from benefitting from the possession of a passport if the Home Secretary is satisfied that it is in the public interest to do so. This may be the case where:
- a person has been repatriated from abroad at public expense and their debt has not yet been repaid. This is because the passport fee supports the provision of consular services for British citizens overseas; or
- a person whose past, present or proposed activities, actual or suspected, are believed by the Home Secretary to be so undesirable that the grant or continued enjoyment of passport facilities is contrary to the public interest.

There may be circumstances in which the application of legislative powers is not appropriate to the individual applicant but there is a need to restrict the ability of a person to travel abroad.

The application of discretion by the Home Secretary will primarily focus on preventing overseas travel. There may be cases in which the Home Secretary believes that the past, present or proposed activities (actual or suspected) of the applicant or passport holder should prevent their enjoyment of a passport facility whether overseas travel was or was not a critical factor.

Unless the website works differently in the UK (which I doubt) it is a requirement for all applicants.

Canadian. I can't see how it is effective either but apparently some terrorists are really stupid.

By "fetish" I meant the British seem to think every country is as obsessed with passports as they are and the fact is they aren't. They have compelled people into having passports, a lot of other countries haven't, hence the lack of effectiveness of the requirement. It doesn't occur to bureaucrats in other countries because they know people can travel internationally without a passport. So submitting a copy of your French passport, which has no stamps in it because you don't need to use it, isn't going to tell them much.

In the UK you can apply on-line, by post, in person or by application via the Post Office. None of these options ask you about dual nationality or for copies of any foreign passport you may hold.

Why would a Canadian MP know anything about the application requirements for a British passport?

Not sure where you getting this from or going with it to be honest. If you want to have a British passport any more then don't renew it. If you do want a British passport and don't want to send in a copy of your Canadian passport then don't. It won't make a scrap of difference to your application.