More than 99% of foreign nationals from outside the EU will be
tracked in and out of Britain by 2010 using the e-Borders system,
says the Home
Office.
The Government said its electronic border system will see every
passenger being counted in and out of Britain and checked against
immigration and security watch-lists by 2014.
Already, the £1.2bn e-Borders system has screened 50m passengers
travelling to Britain, leading to more than 2,000 arrests,
including murderers, drug dealers and sex offenders.
The e-Borders update comes as the Home Office publishes 'A
Strong New Force at the Border', its strategy for ensuring the UK
has secure borders.
From this month, the UK Border Agency is trialling new
technology at Manchester Airport which balances high security with
faster processing times at immigration control.
New facial recognition gates will use scanning equipment to
compare the faces of UK and EU passengers to their biometric
passports. If successful these gates could be rolled-out across the
country.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said, "Our hi-tech electronic
borders system will allow us to count all foreign nationals in and
out of the UK, while checking them against watch-lists.
"These checks make up just one part of Britain's triple ring of
security, alongside fingerprint visas for three-quarters of the
world's population, and the roll-out of ID cards for foreign
nationals, locking people to one identity."
The strategy also lays down plans for "no fly" lists, with
passengers flagged up by e-Borders subsequently barred from flying
with airlines into the UK.
The UK Border Agency confirmed that its new hi-tech centre for
e-Borders will be based in Manchester, and by 2010, staff there
will monitor almost every foreign passenger travelling in and out
of Britain.
The new centre will create up to 250 jobs for the north west of
England. The UK Border Agency is signing an agreement with
Manchester Airport Group to work more closely to strengthen
Britain's borders and improve the experience of legitimate
passengers.
Travel sector may have to redevelop systems for e-Border
requirements >>
Home Office to roll out biometric technology to UK borders
>>