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| Britain |
| Brown announces UK border force |
| 2007-07-26 |
| Britain's first unified border force is to be set up by the Government, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said. Officers from the Border and Immigration Agency, Revenue and Customs and UKVisas will be brought together to create a single checkpoint for travellers at ports and airports. In a major security statement in the Commons, Mr Brown also announced moves for a controversial increase in the maximum time police can hold terror suspects, backing a new maximum of 56 days. And he set out alternative proposals which would introduce French-style "examining magistrates" to run police investigations. "To strengthen the powers and surveillance capabilities of our border guards and security officers, we will now integrate the vital work of the Border and Immigration Agency, Customs and UKVisas overseas," Mr Brown said. "At the main points of entry to the UK we will establish a unified border force." The Cabinet Secretary has been asked to report on plans for implementing the proposal by October and also look at whether there is a case to go further, added Mr Brown. The new agency will be known simply as the Border Force and officers from all three organisations will wear the same uniform, a Home Office spokesman said. Opposition leader David Cameron said he was "delighted" to see the Government adopting his party's policy for a single border force. In a radical new move, for the first time the Government said it would be giving serious consideration to introducing a Continental-style system of investigating judges. Such a move would have dramatic implications for traditional methods of police investigation and on the way cases are prosecuted in British courts. |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #5 I was going to ask if the Royal Navy wasn't enough of a border force, but events in Iraq have answered that question. |
| Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds 2007-07-26 16:57 |
| #4 Just like our response to 9/11 by creating Homeland Security, this is nothing more than a political exercise to make the averge Brit feel good that something is being done. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2007-07-26 09:18 |
| #3 I was thinking that they wanted to keep out the Scots and the Welsh. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-07-26 00:18 |
| #2 With respect to the actual article - fighting terror with bureaucratic adjustments seems overly optimistic. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2007-07-26 00:16 |
| #1 OT, but I was drafting a post concerning the Daily Mirror dudes who dedcided to test train security with a fake bombing. The day turned over and I was unable to post on that particular article. Here is my post: Here's hoping that they are released and continue their legitimate journalistic endeavors until they are popped in the head with a 45 cal. A nice photo of a janitor squeegying up some journalistic cerebrum will sell quite a few papers. The security footage might even provide a nice object lesson once it inevitably hits You Tube. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2007-07-26 00:13 |