UK government to track holidaymakers
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
The government is building a secret database to track and hold the international travel records of all 60 million Britons, according to a report in The Times of London.
The intelligence centre will reportedly store names, addresses, telephone numbers, seat reservations, travel itineraries and credit card details for all 250 million passenger movements in and out of the UK each year. The computerised pattern of every individual’s travel history will be stored for up to 10 years, the UK Home Office is said to have admitted.
The database is also expected to monitor people’s travel companions.
The database is the unpublicised part of the UK government’s “e-borders” programme, intended to count everyone who comes in and out of the country by 2014. Currently the UK Border Agency is piloting a scheme which monitors the travel movements of passengers on “high-risk” routes from a small number of airports, including London’s two biggest hubs, Heathrow and Gatwick.
The UK’s Immigration Minister, Phil Woolas, defended the plans; “The UK has one of the toughest borders in the world and we are determined to ensure it stays that way. Our high-tech electronic borders system will allow us to count all passengers in and out and targets those who aren’t willing to play by our rules,” he was quoted saying in The Times.
Comments are closed.