Foreign criminals could be working at UK airports
Published: 07/05/08
Foreign criminals could be working in high security areas of British airports because of a failure to vet workers properly, it has emerged. The story, which was reported in a Newsnight investigation, ran on the front page of today's Telegraph.
Airport staff are checked only for any offences committed in Britain, and are not vetted for any that may have been carried out in their countries of origin. The government apparently decided not to carry out foreign criminal record checks because of the amount of time and complexity involved in dealing with different jurisdictions.
But does the news that workers at UK airports are not being properly vetted makes a mockery of Labour's stance? Has it got its priorities right when it comes to tackling terrorism?