Spy centre will track you on holiday
THE government is building a secret database to track and hold the international travel records of all 60m Britons.
The intelligence centre will store names, addresses, telephone numbers, seat reservations, travel itineraries and credit card details for all 250m passenger movements in and out of the
The computerised pattern of every individual’s travel history will be stored for up to 10 years, the Home Office admits.
The government says the new database, to be housed in an industrial estate in Wythenshawe, near
Related Links
· The first ID cards are here - but no one in the UK can read them
· The desperate horde on Britain's doorstep
Chris Grayling, shadow home secretary, said: “The government seems to be building databases to track more and more of our lives.
“The justification is always about security or personal protection. But the truth is that we have a government that just can’t be trusted over these highly sensitive issues. We must not allow ourselves to become a Big Brother society.”
Some immigration officials with knowledge of the plans admit there is likely to be public concern. “A lot of this stuff will have a legitimate use in the fight against crime and terrorism, but it’s what else it could be used for that presents a problem,” said one.
“It will be able to detect whether parents are taking their children abroad during school holidays. It could be useful to the tax authorities because it will tell them how long non-UK domiciled people are spending in the
The database is also expected to monitor people’s travel companions.
Phil Woolas, the immigration minister, defended the plans. “The
In a report last week, the House of Lords constitution committee, whose members include Lord Woolf, the former lord chief justice, called for a significant cutback in the state’s surveillance powers.
It said
The Wythenshawe spy centre will house more than 300 police and immigration officers. A similar number of technicians will help check travellers’ details against police, MI5, benefit agency and other government “watch lists”.
The exact location of the new database is a secret within
The database is the unpublicised part of the government’s so-called “e-borders” programme, intended to count everyone who comes in and out of the country by 2014. At the moment the UK Border Agency is running a pilot which monitors the travel movements of passengers on “high-risk” routes from a small number of airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick.
Some 70m passenger movements have been tracked to date, but this is expected to increase to 100m by the end of April. Officials hope that by the end of next year 95% of the 250m annual passenger movements will be logged in the database.
The origins of e-borders stem from 2005 when Tony Blair, then prime minister, was unable to say, during a television interview with the BBC’s Jeremy Paxman, how many failed asylum seekers were in
Under the scheme, once a person buys a ticket to travel to or from the
The data is then checked against various watchlists to identify those involved in abuse of
At the moment limited information about selected routes and travellers is kept on the pilot database run by the agency at an office in Hounslow, west
Lord Carlile, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said privacy concerns had to be balanced against the need to gather intelligence on terrorism suspects. “Travel patterns are a powerful tool in the fight against terrorism,” he said.
·
Where in the Labour manifesto did it say that they will spy on your every movement, communication, and thought? Where is the public debate about this? What are our Opposition MPs doing to stop the erosion of our privacy and liberty? And fundamentally why have we got to this place?
Kevin, Lymington,
When we look around the world, now we know which enemy state threatens us the most with ruin and enslavement.
It's not
It's our own.
Mark,
The point of these databases is nothing to do with terrorism but to limit our ability to protest. For those who have espoused the 'nothing to hide' argument, perhaps you can begin to see that you were hoodwinked: it was always about what you had to lose - freedom and democratic rights.
John Levett,
Simple - VOTE THEM OUT - it's the only language these people understand
Dave Roy,
This article should be headlined in EVERY newspaper in the land.
Nelson,
They also plan to use this across the
Ghastly!
Charlie,
World's biggest dna database of innocent people, monitoring of all phone calls and emails, car journeys tracked via number recognition, under 18s' details on a database, stripsearch scanners, all travel monitored, spying by numerous agencies now allowed..Cold War
D Thompson,
Bob, no need to show your passport. The carrier will have informed the authorities of your movements and swimming the Channel is just not an option, at lease for most.
S Jaeger,
The rest of Europe are "opening" their borders through the Schengen agreement (
Jon Kingsbury,
It won't work, I registered for "Iris" at
David Hedley,
This isn't about protecting us from so called terrorists, its about policing the British people and making sure we dont 'get away' with anything.
Jamie,
I regularly travel from mainland Europe to
Bob,
I am a seventy years old Warwickshire born British citizen living in
JAMES RUNNALLS,
I would be outraged, but this database probably won't even be completed by the IT people, and even if they have this information, they'll probably lose it before they can do anything with it anyway.
JF,
I am disturbed by all this technological surveillance of the mass of the population. Surely the point is that criminals, terrorists, illegal immigrants and the like fly UNDER THE RADAR, and so will evade detection by electronic border controls and biometric ID cards that no-one can read anyway!
Michael P,
Database after database is foisted upon us despite complaints. Why? Because our objections do not matter. Our petty moaning on websites and letters pages are laughable in the Government's eyes. As a nation, its people need to collectively take action. Stop this rot - and reverse it.
Jeff,
This is a great example of how Big Brother got put into place to begin with: the protection of personal safety. Labour will protect your safety to the point where they know more about you than you do. What's surprising is that they're frank about it, I'm sure the
Matt Zetlin,
I am saddened by the way our privacy and liberties are slowly being eaten away by governments under the pretext of security.
Will illegals buy tickets to come in on scheduled flights / sailings etc ?
We need to stand up against this high handedness from this government.
Hamad Lone,
Oh, the indignation. I think you will find that the US Dept of Homeland Security (which Obama doesn't seem in any rush to reform) does the same thing and Sarkozy is in hot water over similar plans.
I suspect all governments are doing it - or at least those with IT consultants knocking on their door
eddie reader,
"The
Our border controls have been run down year on year and customs staff depleted since we joined the EU. Anything to re-harden our too porous borders against criminals from terrorists to drug, gun and people smugglers is always to be welcomed.
paul j. weighell, purley,
We already live in a surveillance society in which ordinary citizens are tracked by a number of agencies on a daily basis.The excuse is given that it is alright for people to have no privacy providing it is invaded by an official or the organisation for which he/she works.
David, kings
Does anyone at all expect this data to fulfill the intended function? The government cannot keep health, tax and other records out of the hands of thieves, or stop its employees losing laptops. Why should this latest lot of data be different?
Meic Pearse,
I live in
neddy, KL,
I have no objection to the Government keeping details of my travel plans on computer - they have all the other information already - but why my credit card details?
Patricia Thornton,
Presumably it will also be useful to track the movements of those tax exiles who nip in and out of the country to avoid legitimate taxes.....or is it just for the proletariate?
I wonder if there will be any data leaks,, i.e your away on holiday so your house gets burgled etc etc ??
joe,
Emigrate Baby Emigrate
Where the Sun never sets...
Where the Party never stops..
Where the Life goes on and on...
So that U never back again to Brtitain....
Emigrate Baby Emigrate
I feel I am losing my country, entrusted to those not capable of the responsibility. Wilde said "consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative" - no creativity, no innovation. Smother everyone in inceasing process and regulations, supported by an ever more expensive stultifying bureaucracy.
Mick,
i think this has been going on for some time. They scan your passport into their database at most airport terminals and eurostar, rather than just checking it is genuine and you are not on their wanted list manually.
K Jenkinson,
Yet another reason I will leave this country as soon as I've finished my studies. Much as I like its people, the government seems to be using 1984 as their guide-book. Hopefully it will not come that far in
One of the toughest borders contols in the world!!! I like the sentence,everyone must play by the rules, would that include Peers and M.Ps. Do they REALLY believe what they say or is it just spin. I really do wonder just what is going on in the
gparker,
The newspapers must fight this tooth and nail
David Griffin, Ilfracombe,
More and more of our basic freedoms are being ignored or removed by this government under the auspice of tackling crime, illegal immigration or terrorism. When are people going to wake-up to the fact that we are being herded into the Orwellian nightmare using government spin.
Les,
I can't believe we have sleep-walked into this situation. We left a year ago - couldn't put up with it all any more. Love the
Steve L,
Tricky one to defeat. A trip to
Ashleigh,
The tragedy is the meekness with which the British accept this type of treatment. We expected nothing else of Nu Labour but I am shocked that no one puts up a fight any longer.
Paul,
Next time I'm off to Europe I'll be landing in
Casey,
plan=graduate, leave, never return. we already live in a surveillance society i fell ashamed at what the labour party have done to my one proud country
Dave Winchester, Ilminster,
Most people complain that the goverment doesn't do enough against terrorism, illegal immigration and crime. What kind of security checks do you think would be correct to apply both to your neighbour and also to yourself?
Lou,
I suppose being spontaneous will flag up on the system and everyone with an ounce of last minute creativity will be a suspect of something.
Farrukh,
Can you Brits say George Orwell?????
Bruce L. Northwood,
What a horrible place the
Paul,
Bev, I a lot of people are thinking like that. This government is despicable. Even a few years ago there'd be large protests over this sort of thing. Now... nothing.
harry,
Unfortunately so many people in this country are too stupid to actually realise the devasting mistake they made when they voted in this government - it will take generations to undo the damage these career politicians have done to our once beautiful land.
Ian,
Presumably this will also capture data on visitors from overseas. I wonder if the government will offer us frequent flyer points so I can visit home more often?
Bev of Buckingham, I understand how you feel, having left the
Ian Morgan,
I left the
This is just anther reason why
Tony V,
“The
Absolute rubbish.
Ian,
my privacy is my property. To yield or not as I see fit. It is MOT the property of any government by default
Tom,
If only I could go and never come back.
Posts
