Airport staff security checks under fire
- 00:01:08
- ITN
Airport staff security checks under fire
Foreign criminals could be working in restricted zones at British airports, it has emerged.All staff are vetted to find out if they have been convicted of offences in the UK but it has emerged that there are no checks on any committed overseas.This means that the estimated "thousands" of foreigners who work airside at British airports may not have been fully screened.The Department for Transport (DfT) said checks of foreign criminal records are being considered as part of an independent review of personnel security announced in December.More thorough "counter-terrorist checks" are required for staff who work in particularly sensitive areas.Tory shadow home secretary David Davis said the loophole would be a "disgrace" if it proved to be a case of "commercial interest trumping public safety".He called for immediate security checks to be carried out on all staff currently working airside regardless of the cost.Mr Davis said: "It's astonishing given the history, and of course the risk on the airside of any airport in the United Kingdom."To know about this for five years and do nothing about it is doubly astonishing."To not do anything about it because it's inconvenient when you think of the level of inconvenience they put passengers to - all no doubt for good reasons - but they're not going to put the companies through it."They should immediately carry out security checks on all people currently working airside."Anybody who fails should be removed and before anybody else is employed those security checks should be completed."And they should do that irrespective of cost and as fast as can be done. Otherwise it's worse than complacent, it's reckless."A DfT spokeswoman said: "All staff who work in the restricted zone of an airport are required to pass through the same security checks as passengers every time they enter it."Furthermore everyone must undergo a background check when applying to work in the restricted zone."This includes having their identity and right to work verified, five years of employment history and a check of UK criminal records."The more thorough counter-terrorist check is then required for staff at airports who work in specific security functions."Checks of foreign criminal records are being looked at as part of the independent review into personnel security being undertaken by Stephen Boys Smith which we announced in December 2007."From 2009 the Government will be introducing new biometric ID cards for people who work airside in the country's airports, allowing an individual to be linked more securely to their own true identity, helping protect against crime, illegal immigration and terrorism."
ITN | May 8, 2008
