Probe into ‘relaxed’ checks on passports

The head of the force, Brodie Clark, has been suspended and faces the sack after guards quietly dropped certain passport checks this summer.

Home Secretary Theresa May is said to have been furious when she found out, although the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCSU) and Labour claimed the decision had been authorised by Ministers. The union claimed that staff were instructed to relax the checks in order to cope with staff shortages arising from Government spending cuts.

Mrs May has asked the Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency, John Vine, to investigate and will make a statement to parliament today.

However, the terms of reference for his inquiry are unclear and Labour sources pointed out that his remit was usually confined to the UK Border Agency and may not cover the actions of Ministers.

The Home Office would not discuss the circumstances of the changes to border checks.

But reports suggested that border guards were told this summer not to bother checking biometric chips on the passports of citizens from outside the EU to ensure they are not fraudsters.

The guards were also instructed not to bother checking fingerprints and other personal details against a Home Office database of terror suspects and illegal immigrants, it was claimed.

Shadow Home Office Minister Chris Bryant claimed that Ministers had told borders staff to “cut some corners” and said Mrs May should “face the music” herself.

Sue Smith, of the PCSU, blamed what she claimed had been a 10 per cent reduction in border force staff. “The travelling public understandably want to have a fast and efficient service and yet we are also under a reduced workforce,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.