Border chief silent over check relaxing

The former head of the UK Border Force has admitted he did not tell Home Secretary Theresa May about the relaxation of fingerprint checks at ports.

Brodie Clark said officials had not been checking fingerprints at border controls on certain occasions since the spring of last year. But ministers, including Mrs May, were not told about the policy, which he described as “very sensible” in dealing with long queues.

He also admitted “there was no evidence” that Mrs May and her ministerial team at the Home Office knew about the policy which had been in place under a set of rules introduced in 2007.

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He said the policy of scaling back fingerprint checks was to be introduced for “a set period where there was a particular pressure on a port, where something had to give”.

Mr Clark added he “made no connection” in April this year, when Mrs May said she did want fingerprint checking to be suspended as part of a more widespread policy, between that and the “more discretionary” relaxation of checks throughout this summer.

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