[Infowarrior] - UK's 53 questions for all traveller anti-terror scan

[Richard Forno]

(all 53 questions are shown in a graphic on the article's webpage.  Some of
them are downright creepy -- 21, 22, 31, and 45 in particular.....not to
mention the bit about possibly preventing those with unpaid speeding tickets
from leaving the country....unbelievable over-reaching in the name of
anti-terrorism..rf)

Terror crackdown as passengers forced to answer 53 questions in airport
inquisition

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=
493912&in_page_id=1770

By JAMES SLACK - More by this author » Last updated at 01:11am on 15th
November 2007

Travellers face price hikes and confusion after the Government unveiled
plans to take up to 53 pieces of information from anyone entering or leaving
Britain.

For every journey, security officials will want credit card details, holiday
contact numbers, travel plans, email addresses, car numbers and even any
previous missed flights.

The e-borders system will monitor every passenger travelling into or out of
the country

The information, taken when a ticket is bought, will be shared among police,
customs, immigration and the security services for at least 24 hours before
a journey is due to take place.

Anybody about whom the authorities are dubious can be turned away when they
arrive at the airport or station with their baggage.

Those with outstanding court fines, such as a speeding penalty, could also
be barred from leaving the country, even if they pose no security risk.

The information required under the "e-borders" system was revealed as Gordon
Brown announced plans to tighten security at shopping centres, airports and
ports.

This could mean additional screening of baggage and passenger searches, with
resulting delays for travellers.

The e-borders scheme is expected to cost at least £1.2billion over the next
decade.

Travel companies, which will run up a bill of £20million a year compiling
the information, will pass on the cost to customers via ticket prices, and
the Government is considering introducing its own charge on travellers to
recoup costs.

Scroll down for more...
graphic

Critics warned of mayhem at ports and airports when the system is
introduced, beginning in earnest from mid-2009.

By 2014 every one of the predicted 305million passenger journeys in and out
of the UK will be logged, with details stored about the passenger on every
trip.

The scheme will apply to every way of leaving the country, whether by ferry,
plane, or small aircraft. It would apply to a family having a day out in
France by Eurotunnel, and even to a yachtsman leaving British waters during
the day and returning to shore.

The measure applies equally to UK residents going abroad and foreigners
travelling here.

The information will be stored for as long as the authorities believe it is
useful, allowing them to build a complete picture of where a person has been
over their lifetime, how they paid and the contact numbers of who they
stayed with.

The Home Office, which yesterday signed a contract with U.S. company
Raytheon Systems to run the computer system, said e-borders would help to
keep terrorists and illegal immigrants out of the country.

For the first time since embarkation controls were scrapped in 1998, they
will also have a more accurate picture of who is in the UK at any one time.

The personal information stored about every journey could prove vital in
detecting a planned atrocity, officials insist.

But the majority - around 60 per cent - of the journeys logged will be made
by Britons, mostly going on family holidays or business trips.

Ministers are also considering the creation of a list of "disruptive"
passengers, so that authorities know in advance of any potential
troublemaker, such as an abusive drunk.

David Marshall of the Association of British Travel Agents said: "We are
staggered at the projected costs.

<>"It could also act as a disincentive to people wanting to travel, and we
are sure that is not what the Government intends."

Phil Booth, of the NO2ID group, warned travellers would pay a "stealth tax"
on travel to pay for the scheme.

He added: "This is a huge and utterly ridiculous quantity of personal
information. This type of profiling will throw up many distressing errors
and problems for innocent people.

"We have already seen planes turned around mid-flight because a passenger's
surname matches that of somebody on a watch list.

"When the Government talks about e-borders, it gives the impression it is
about keeping bad people out. In fact, it is a huge grab of personal
information, and another move towards the database state."

A pilot of the "e-borders" technology, known as Project Semaphore, has
already screened 29million passengers.

Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said: "Successful trials of the new system
have already led to more than 1,000 criminals being caught and more than
15,000 people of concern being checked out by immigration, customs or the
police."

But Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesman, said: "The
Government must not use legitimate fears or dangers to crop vast amounts of
private information without proper safeguards."

John Tincey, of the Immigration Service Union, said: "The question is are
there going to be the staff to respond to the information that is produced?

"In reality people could be missed. Potential terrorists could be coming
through if there are not enough staff to check them."

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "While e-borders could be a useful
tool to secure our borders it will not be up and running for at least
another seven years.

"And given the Government's woeful record on delivering IT based projects,
it may well be over budget and over time.

"In the meantime our borders remain porous. The Government should take
practical measures to secure our borders, such as answering our call to
establish a dedicated UK border police force."

€ Restrictions on hand luggage carried on to passenger planes will be lifted
from January.

"Starting with several airports in the New Year, we will work with airport
operators to ensure all UK airports are in a position to allow passengers to
fly with more than one item of hand luggage," Gordon Brown said.

The single bag rule was introduced in August last year after police said
they foiled a plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners.

It caused chaos at Heathrow Airport and drew complaints from airlines.
Restrictions on carrying liquids are expected to continue.