As I'm flying to the USA on Saturday and don't have a passport with a chip in it, I was somewhat alarmed to read this. How am I ever going to get a visa between now and Saturday?!
I had a look at the US Embassy web site and discovered that yes, you do need a chip in your passport if you're travelling on or after 26th October, but only if your passport was issued on or after 26th October.
That was a detail it would have been useful to tell us, Independent on Sunday...