Inquiry into UK border force passport checks
As the UK’s border force chief is suspended over checks for non-EU nationals, a source tells Channel 4 News “we were told if there were queues, look at the passport and let them through”.
Home Secretary Theresa May has launched an independent inquiry into the UK border force following claims that guards quietly dropped certain passport checks to cope with staff shortages at busy times.
The head of the force, Brodie Clark, has been suspended and faces the sack over the relaxation of controls this summer. Channel 4 News understands a further four top officials are also suspended.
A UK Border Agency (UKBA) source told Home Affairs Correspondent Simon Israel that immigration officers had been instructed not to question or to verify visa-carrying non-EU passengers entering the UK.
The source said: “We were told if there were queues, just look at the passport and let the person through.”
There was also guidance issued to border staff at Calais not to bother checking fingerprints and other personal details against a warning index.
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The chairman of the home affairs select committee described the suspensions as “extraordinary” and said he would be questioning Home Secretary Theresa May about the issue next week.
Keith Vaz said: “These developments are extraordinary in that they involve such senior members of the UK Border Agency.
The border police are supposed to keep people out, not let people in. Keith Vaz
“Only a day after the publication of our report which concluded that the border agency continues to fail we have this remarkable news.
“We will question the home secretary about this on Tuesday when she comes before the committee.
“If her answers do not satisfy us I am sure the committee will want to conduct its own inquiry. The border police are supposed to keep people out, not let people in.”
The newspaper claimed that Mr Clark had given the go-ahead for UKBA staff to abandon checks at ports including Calais and Heathrow.
Shadow Home Office minister Chris Bryant claimed that ministers had told borders staff to “cut some corners” and said Theresa May should “face the music” herself.
Mr Bryant called for the publication of all the paperwork between ministers and UKBA.