Another data point, for what it's worth: LHR-T3 had both Iris machines shut Monday eve, T5 had both open Wednesday. Not sure if the closures aren't anything more than neglect. Shame, it was one of the few bits of government that most of us will use that really worked well, and entirely typical that it's being dumped for something that if we're lucky will work almost as well.
I've always thought that when you stand in front of an immig guard, it's the one time when as a citizen of a democracy, in another democracy, you have no rights whatsoever and are entirely at the mercy of authority... a small glimpse of insight into living under more authoritarian regimes. In that light, the East German style queues are entirely natural.