Heathrow Airport passport queues ‘visible manifestation’ of systemic Border Force failures, report finds

Reviewer says government is not properly consulting Border Force on ‘ill-conceived policy initiatives’

Hours-long queues for passport checks at Britain’s busiest airport are a “visible manifestation” of systemic Border Force failures a review has found.

A report commissioned by Priti Patel said issues with long-term planning and ineffective recruitment mean that checkpoints at Heathrow Airport are not properly staffed.

It warned that queues had been more than three hours long at some points during the review period, and that maximum time targets had been suspended after being repeatedly breached.

“The long queues are the visible manifestation of more systemic issues, many of which apply to Border Force as a whole,” said reviewer Alexander Downer.

“Queues at Heathrow are a frustration for passengers and are a significant problem for the airport operator and airlines.”

It warned that the issues were having a negative impact on the entire Border Force operation nationally, as staff have to be sent to the London airport from other regions during busy periods, like the end of the school holidays.

Such relocations were found to be an “inefficient use of funds” as the travel and accommodation costs of officers from as far away as Glasgow have to be covered, and they are taken away from other work.

The report said that Border Force operations at Heathrow and other busy airports need to be “fully resourced to be self-sufficient rather than having to draw resources from elsewhere”, and called for the Home Office to “fix” failing recruitment processes.

Mr Downer also found issues with Border Force’s response to small boat crossings in the English Channel, its relationship with the travel industry, planning, capabilities, recruitment, staff training and development.

The report hit out at the impact of “ill-conceived policy initiatives” thought up by the government without proper consultation with Border Force.

“Too frequently I saw and heard of examples where Border Force were consulted about how new border initiatives would be implemented too late, often after ministerial approval,” Mr Downer said.

“Border Force should be involved in parallel when policy proposals are put to ministers which they will be responsible for implementing…I also saw examples of policy teams not reacting in a timely manner to requests from Border Force to address emerging issues, resulting in wasted effort and poor operational outcomes. This is not good policy making.”

Mr Downer suggested that Border Force time was being wasted “working though the implementation of ill-considered policy initiatives”, which put staff “in the unenviable position of having to explain to ministers, sometimes in other departments, why their policy aims cannot be realised as described, even though they could have pointed out such challenges in the policy development process if they were given the opportunity.”

Many passengers using Heathrow have endured severe disruption recently (PA) (PA Wire)

The review found that in response to small boat crossings by asylum seekers in the English Channel, Border Force “has been drawn into a challenge that it is ill-equipped to deal with and yet all consuming”.

It said the overall approach to the issue had been “ineffective and possibly counter-productive in preventing” the journeys, and that neither Border Force nor Royal Navy vessels were suitable for search and rescue missions.

Mr Downer’s appointment as Border Force reviewer in February had provoked controversy among human rights charities, because of his history as one of the architects of Australia’s asylum offshoring policy.

The former Liberal Party member left Australian politics in 2008 and became a diplomat, later serving as the country’s high commissioner to the UK.

His report on the Border Force backed the processing of asylum seekers in third countries and called on the government to reintroduce the Channel push-back policy that has already been dropped.

“Overall, my impression of Border Force is an organisation which is performing at a sub-optimal level,” Mr Downer concluded.

“It appears to be struggling to get out of a cycle of crisis management, reacting to the last challenge and bracing itself for the next, regardless of how predictable the next challenge may be.”

The review said that day-to-day operations were being covered by “stretching its resources in an unsustainable and highly inefficient way”.

It found that “significant under-staffing at some ports” had been created partly by a recruitment freeze imposed on Border Force in late 2019, and uncertainty about funding.

The time between a job advert going out and a job being offered currently averages 106 days and potential recruits, who are already thin on the ground, have been dropping out and getting other jobs because of the slow process.

In a foreword to the report, Priti Patel said she welcomed the “vast majority” of Mr Downer’s recommendations.

She added: “I have tasked my department to develop a robust and swift implementation plan for how we will deliver against the review.

“This will be a truly important step in achieving the vision for the future of Border Force set out in the review; as a high performing organisation delivering efficiently and effectively for the prosperity and security of the UK.”

As the report was published on Wednesday, the Home Office announced that it would start testing “contactless” border crossings, which would allow some passengers to enter the UK and undergo automated border screening without going through an eGate or speaking to a Border Force officer. Pilot testing will not begin until 2024.