THE Home Office has moved to end speculation that Northern Ireland travellers may need to use passports to travel to Great Britain in future.

This was in response to an angry reaction to suggestions that the requirement might be introduced as part of a tightening of security measures.

Concerns were raised when the Republic's Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Dail that travellers from Irish ports and airports to Britain would have to carry passports from 2009.

This would effectively signal an end to the Common Travel Area which has existed between Ireland and Britain since 1922. Since then citizens of both countries have been able to freely enter and exit the jurisdictions without producing identity documents.

Mr Ahern added: "Brititish authorities have no plans whatosever to introduce any controls on the land border between North and South. I want to make that clear."

Independent Unionist Member of the European Parliament Jim Allister attacked any suggestion that people from Northern Ireland would be required to produce their passports in order to travel to other parts of the UK. He called such a suggestion "preposterous and unacceptable."

"UK citizens from Northern Ireland bieng denied free movement within their United Kingdom is utterly incompatible with and prejudicial to our British citizenship," he said.

A Home Office spokesman said there are no plans to require domestic passengers to produce passports on all-domestic air and sea journeys."

He added: "There are no immediate plans to change the requirements for those travelling between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

"There is no question of ending the Common Travel Area.

"As outlined in our March Strategy, Securing the UK Border, we are reviewing the rules and operation of the Common Travel Area to explore how we can strengthen border security in future, and will continue to consult CTA authorities and industry."