16 November 2007
The Public and Commercial Services union has attacked Prime Minister Gordon Brown's creation of a Border Agency to oversee security at ports and airports.
The plan, announced on November 14 as part of a package of measures to protect Britain against terrorism, puts the agency in charge of a single checkpoint for passport control and customs.
The agency, which would have 25,000 staff, would be under the joint control of the Treasury and the Home Office.
'Members of the new agency will have the power, from January next year, to detain people not just on suspicion of immigration offences or for customs crime but also for other criminal activity, including terrorism,' Brown said.
But the PCS said the plans were based on a poor and rushed evaluation of pilot schemes. General secretary Mark Serwotka said: 'We fear they are a recipe for confusion… [and] will lead to a dilution of skills and specialist knowledge.'
Brown said that security would be stepped up at public buildings, with more barriers, vehicle exclusion zones and blast resistant structures.
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