UK police 'may have place in border force'

The British Government will examine the possibility of including police in the new Border Force, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said today.

During an inspection of immigration systems at Heathrow Airport, she revealed that Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell will review whether police forces could eventually feature in the radical plans announced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday.

The premier told the Commons that a unified Border Force will be created at ports and airports, bringing together staff from the Border and Immigration Agency, HM Revenue and Customs and UKVisas.

Ms Smith said: “The cabinet secretary will look at the way it works with the police and whether we can go further.

“We need to ensure that in setting up this unified Border Force we do it in a way that works, that achieves value for money and that we can see the benefits.

“It is to the benefit of the police and all those involved in securing our borders that we are using the people and resources that we have got – in this case Immigration and Customs – in the sharpest and smartest way.”

She criticised the Tories for proposing to fund a more comprehensive borders’ police force with money saved by scrapping the identity cards’ scheme.

Abandoning the controversial plan to introduce compulsory biometric ID cards would leave officials without vital intelligence to protect Britain’s borders, she added.

The Home Secretary also insisted that the Government would meet the targets for introducing new immigration measures announced by Mr Brown yesterday, including an expansion of biometric visas and a new electronic checking system by 2009.

“It is a challenge and it will be part of my responsibility to keep that on track,” she said.

The Home Secretary inspected mobile finger-printing technology and passport scanners at Heathrow, and also enrolled herself for the Project Iris scheme which allows UK citizens and other trusted travellers to enter the country without queuing at immigration using special iris-scan booths.

She also met immigration officers at the arrivals’ hall in Terminal One, which has been refurbished with obvious signage saying “UK Border”.