ID :
13592
Wed, 07/23/2008 - 18:55
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/13592
The shortlink copeid
Terrorist threat to UK airports over lax security: report
London, July 23 (PTI) Top airports in Britain are at risk from "internal terror attack" due to lax security system, an official report said Wednesday.
The government-commissioned report warned that the greatest threat of terrorism may be from "internal attack". The "threat is varied and unpredictable, said the paper written by former civil servant Stephen Boys Smith.
Despite warnings that terrorists have tried to place sleepers in jobs "airside" in terminals, no attempt has been made to check whether foreign workers have committed any offences abroad, the Daily Telegraph newspaper quoted the report as saying.
It stressed that as the government has responded decisively to external terrorist threat, "future threat may increasingly come from the insider rather than passengers or members of the public".
The report urged for foreign criminal record checks to be made compulsory for airport workers to combat the threat to security. It is feared that hundreds of foreigners are working in high security zones of Britain's airports without passing proper criminal record checks.
According to the British daily, there are an estimated 200,000 staff in the "airside" parts of airports employed in shops, cafes or as cleaners in the departure lounge. Others may be employed as baggage handlers, security guards or driving buses between aircraft and the terminal.
"The Department for Transport, in consultation with the industry, should introduce a requirement to obtain foreign CRCs or the nearest equivalent information in cases where CRCs are compulsory to the UK," the report said.
The government-commissioned report warned that the greatest threat of terrorism may be from "internal attack". The "threat is varied and unpredictable, said the paper written by former civil servant Stephen Boys Smith.
Despite warnings that terrorists have tried to place sleepers in jobs "airside" in terminals, no attempt has been made to check whether foreign workers have committed any offences abroad, the Daily Telegraph newspaper quoted the report as saying.
It stressed that as the government has responded decisively to external terrorist threat, "future threat may increasingly come from the insider rather than passengers or members of the public".
The report urged for foreign criminal record checks to be made compulsory for airport workers to combat the threat to security. It is feared that hundreds of foreigners are working in high security zones of Britain's airports without passing proper criminal record checks.
According to the British daily, there are an estimated 200,000 staff in the "airside" parts of airports employed in shops, cafes or as cleaners in the departure lounge. Others may be employed as baggage handlers, security guards or driving buses between aircraft and the terminal.
"The Department for Transport, in consultation with the industry, should introduce a requirement to obtain foreign CRCs or the nearest equivalent information in cases where CRCs are compulsory to the UK," the report said.
