Travellers could one day breeze through border control with no physical checks in new “contactless corridors” being rolled out by the Home Office.
The home secretary, Priti Patel, announced on Wednesday that her department were going to pilot secure “contactless” border crossings.
This would allow some passengers to enter the UK and undergo automated border screening without going though an eGate, which scans your passport, or speaking to a Border Force officer.
Instead, travellers would undergo “pre-screening”, the home office said in a statement. This would allow them to be “identified at the border using the latest technology”.
The Times reported that this would be made possible through the use of facial recognition technology. Foreigners arriving in Britain would have to submit biometric details through a smartphone app as part of the new Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme, the paper reported.
The Home Office aims to begin pilot testing in 2024.
The announcement came as part of the department’s major plans to overhaul the Border Force.
Travellers would be able to walk through security without physical checks, under new plans
(REUTERS)
An independent review found it is performing at a “suboptimal level” and stretching its resources in an “unsustainable and highly inefficient way”.
The independent review, commissioned by Ms Patel to see how well it may respond to future challenges, named a range of issues with the organisation.
Despite a “dedicated, capable workforce”, the agency seems to be “less than the sum of its parts with significant systemic challenges”, the report found.
The review, by former Australian immigration minister Alexander Downer, said: “Overall, my impression of Border Force is an organisation which is performing at a suboptimal level.
“It appears to be struggling to get out of a cycle of crisis management, reacting to the last challenge and bracing itself for the next, regardless of how predictable the next challenge may be.
“Although Border Force is largely delivering what is required of it on a day-to-day basis, it does so by stretching its resources in an unsustainable and highly inefficient way.
Mr Downer said his review comes as Border Force is contending with “exceptional challenges”, including people coming to the UK illegally in small boats, immigration abuse, illegal drugs, firearms and organised crime, along with the need to protect national security.
The review added: “There…
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