So I had an appointment at my local MP's office on Friday. I saw his assistant who was absolutely lovely....she can't believe I've been waiting this long with how many people after me have got DM. (Even though my prints were requested last year they marked that off as a non-issue on my file shortly after receiving them, so apparently that shouldn't be the reason for a holdup). She took tonnes of notes about my application and situation including my passport issues etc ...then put in a call to the Ministers office. She's expecting a call back either today or tomorrow and is hopeful they can prod this along a little. I gave her some figures about the current inland processing times (17 & 10) versus processing times when my application was submitted (8 & 6) - she said i'm the first person to call or go in who can actually provide these figures, and can also back them up. Turns out my local MP is the Shadow Minister for Consular Affairs & Human Rights, and works closely with the Shadow Immigration Minister and they want to use information like this in their meetings etc. So maybe it can help us all, who knows. I'm going to stay ccautiously optimistic without raising my hopes too much...but cross your fingers for me!