Section:GDN 1N PaGe:14 Edition Date:190907 Edition:01 Zone:S Sent at 6/9/2019 18:15 cYanmaGentaYellowb
- The Guardian Saturday 7 September 2019
(^14) National
Diane Taylor
Frustrated travellers have hit out at
Home Offi ce systems that lead to them
repeatedly being held up at airports
even though they have done nothing
wrong, with a charity and users say-
ing the system is not fi t for purpose.
The innocent travellers, who are
apparently linked in error to crimi-
nals with the same or similar names on
Home Offi ce databases, are calling on
the government to sort out the prob-
lems, which delay their journeys and
separate them from friends, relatives
or colleagues when they go through
passport control.
Their passports are rejected at
eGates and they are then subjected to
scrutiny by Border Force offi cials who
check them out on Home Offi ce com-
puter systems. The rejection of their
passports and the further checks they
are subjected to cause inconvenience
as well as frustration because other
innocent travellers are able to pass
through the gates without a problem.
Edin Omanovic, the surveillance
programme lead at the Privacy Inter-
national charity, said: “Clearly the
system is not fi t for purpose. It’s a
hangover from years of mismanage-
ment and a waste of taxpayers’ money,
now leading to considerable distress.
The very least the department can do
is be honest with people who under-
standably want simple answers.”
The Guardian has previously
highlighted the case of Antonio Hes-
lop, a Jamaican man wrongly accused
of being a convicted drug dealer when
he applied for a biometric residence
permit because his name was linked
to criminals with similar names on a
Home Offi ce database. Heslop has no
convictions.
Prof David Wilson was told by a
Border Force offi cial: “Nothing wrong
with your passport. I’m not supposed
to tell you this, but your name will be
on a list and that’s why you need to be
checked every time.” He added that
even if Wilson obtained a new pass-
port his name would still be on the list.
Another Border Force offi cial told him:
“Your name coincides with people we
want to talk to.”
Prof David Baker , whose passport
has been rejected at eGates 100 times
in the past seven years , branded the
biometric system “useless”, while Prof
Peter Dawson experienced problems
for more than three years and was told
by one Border Force offi cial that the
system “wasn’t very clever”.
There are 264 eGates at 15 air and
other ports. The Home Offi ce said:
“ It is inaccurate to claim that checks
are based on name alone. All those
arriving in the UK are examined and
checked against Home Offi ce data-
bases using biographical and security
information. There are a number of
technical and security reasons why
a passport may fail to be accepted at
automated border controls.”
Innocent air
passengers
stopped at
passport
eGates
All the old dudes Sir Paul McCartney signs
copies of Hey Grandude, his latest children’s
book , in London. He said: “I wanted to write it
for grandparents everywhere – and the kids.”
PHOTOGRAPH: JAMES
SHAW/SHUTTERSTOCK
▲ Many people’s passports are being
rejected in error at the eGates
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