The National Audit Office (NAO) report says the IT system designed to alert border staff when a potential extremist or offender enters the UK is often checked from lists written on A4 paper.
Latest NAO report: E-borders and successor programmes https://t.co/jRDFFmkk22 #eborders
— NationalAuditOffice (@NAOorguk) December 3, 2015
The NAO found that despite the availability of "automatic number plate recognition" cameras to scan vehicle registration plates, border guards are forced to manually check licence plates against a printed list.
The e-border project started in 2003 under the Labour Party and was developed to count every traveler in and out of the country. It has reportedly already cost US$1.2 billion (£830 million), and the NAO warns it could take another US$ 411 million (£275 million) to fix the computer system and reach its completion target by 2019.
Home Office Officials on e-borders contract said the "prevailing culture inhibited conveying bad news". NAO report says
— richard ford (@RFord4) December 3, 2015
The e-border system was supposed to replace the "warnings-index" which suffers "two high priority incidents a week on average" — casting doubt that Britain can keep track of terrorists slipping through its borders unnoticed.
Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee said the failures in the system were putting Britain at risk.
"A failure to properly cover millions of people entering the country without having passenger information in advance gives a green light to people who wish to come to the UK for illegal or dangerous activity," Vaz said.
The current threat level to the UK from international terrorism has been rated as "severe" by the government and security services, meaning an attack is highly likely.
