"A report has found failings in the government's £500m "e-borders" scheme to gather information on passenger movements in and out of the UK. The independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, John Vine, found that
“A report has found failings in the government’s £500m “e-borders” scheme to gather information on passenger movements in and out of the UK. The independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, John Vine, found that fewer than two-thirds of passenger movements were covered. And almost 650,000 records relating to smuggling had been deleted, he found.”
See the full text: E-borders: Report finds failings (BBC News, link)
See: Report by John Vine, Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration: Press Release: e borders programme is helping the police but has yet to deliver significant benefits to immigration control (link), Report: ‘Exporting the border’? An inspection of e-Borders (pdf) and The Home Office response to the Independent Chief Inspector’s report on ‘An inspection of e-Borders’ (pdf)
Background:
– EU: API, PNR, threat assessments, and data-mining: Member States push for access to travellers’ personal data for customs authorities (Statewatch News Online, February 2013)
– European Commission: Evaluation on the implementation and functioning of the obligation of carriers to communicate passenger data set up by Directive 2004/82 (Final Report for Directorate-General for Home Affairs, pdf)
– Council of the European Union: Final Report on the Study by the Presidency on Advanced Passenger Information and Passenger Name Records (pdf)
– UK: Border Agency: e-borders: Overview of legislation (pdf)