Long queues at T5 border control

Old Apr 26, 2012, 8:35 am
  #181  
 
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Originally Posted by funkyr

There are probably laws about walking straight through immigration without proper clearance regardless if youre a UK citizen.
Does anyone know specifically what law would prohibit this?
I know it must be illegal, but am genuinely interested as to what law you would be arrested/charged/detained/beaten under if as a UK citizen you were to do this.
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Old Apr 26, 2012, 8:40 am
  #182  
 
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immigration act states that an immigration officer must be satisfied blah blah blah.

I take it this also now Means E-gates and Iris, if relevent.

I guess that they are not satisfied if they havn't seen your paperwork / passport because you have legged it thro' the controls.

Who is going to be the first to try it
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Old Apr 26, 2012, 8:45 am
  #183  
 
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Perhaps time has clouded my memory but I am sure when there was the Passport Office chaos of 1999 there was much more press coverage.

e.g. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1999/oct/25/davidhencke

Maybe it does not get the attention we all think it deserves because however bad it is, it is hidden away inside a building in Hounslow that is most unwelcoming to journalists.

Perhaps BAA should as a one off extend the press access and permission to report from the arrivals corridor outside the 'Immigration Hall' which is surely not subject to the no photography rule.

Perhaps BA (and other airlines) should suspend any special assistance or VIP fasttrack provided to ministers so they get the complete experience when flying 'scheduled'.
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Old Apr 26, 2012, 8:45 am
  #184  
 
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Originally Posted by David_Doyle
And where would they get the numbers of staff from to be able to do such a thing?

Yes, it could be done. But the PR implications of such a thing occurring would be massive.
Easy to seal off doors, I'm sure it's all controlled centrally and can be done with a flick of a switch. Pretty sure there's a major incident plan if they ever need to seal off a terminal.

But imagine the PR implications of not stopping a mob of people through immigraiton. What precedence would it set if they just let hundreds of people through without even checking passports or issuing visas? If you're a refugee, swamp immigration and walk past in a group and you wont be stopped - welcome to your new life in the UK. The same applies to terrorists too, do the same and you'll get into the UK unchecked.
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Old Apr 26, 2012, 8:47 am
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Originally Posted by David_Doyle
And where would they get the numbers of staff from to be able to do such a thing?

Yes, it could be done. But the PR implications of such a thing occurring would be massive.
But remember last year's epic fuss about proper immigration checks not being done: UBKA would receive awful PR regardless of how they handled that situation.

Originally Posted by Skipcool3
immigration act states that an immigration officer must be satisfied blah blah blah.
But is also states that a British Citizen does not require the permission of an immigration officer to enter/remain in the country. In practice I understand that this means one can't simply swan past passport control but I'd be interested to know what would happen in those circumstances.
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Old Apr 26, 2012, 8:55 am
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Originally Posted by speedbird66
But is also states that a British Citizen does not require the permission of an immigration officer to enter/remain in the country. In practice I understand that this means one can't simply swan past passport control but I'd be interested to know what would happen in those circumstances.
Hmmm I guess immigration has the right to stop you, bring you aside and make sure you're legit... as to what offence there is for trying to walk pass I'm not sure. You cant be charged with entering the country illegally. There may be a law about mandatory passport checks - if you try to skip those even though your a UK citizen then there may be an issue?
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Old Apr 26, 2012, 9:21 am
  #187  
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Originally Posted by funkyr
But imagine the PR implications of not stopping a mob of people through immigraiton. What precedence would it set if they just let hundreds of people through without even checking passports or issuing visas? If you're a refugee, swamp immigration and walk past in a group and you wont be stopped - welcome to your new life in the UK. The same applies to terrorists too, do the same and you'll get into the UK unchecked.
I was actually thinking of the PR implications of people getting to the point where they actually attempt such a thing, and the efforts of the UKBA / Police etc to then tidy up the ensuing mess.

Massively damaging for UK reputation - weeks of warnings and reports of unacceptable delays, Olympics coming up etc, and now it's boiled over into rebellion. Headlines of incompetent government (again), too many cuts etc

Last edited by David_Doyle; Apr 26, 2012 at 9:26 am
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Old Apr 26, 2012, 10:15 am
  #188  
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Originally Posted by geosat
Perhaps BA (and other airlines) should suspend any special assistance or VIP fasttrack provided to ministers so they get the complete experience when flying 'scheduled'.
I recall suggesting that a while back.

Of course, it would cost a CEO or two their Knighthood/Peerage, so they might not want to play.
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Old Apr 26, 2012, 10:55 am
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Originally Posted by T8191
I recall suggesting that a while back.
Such a good idea I couldn't get it out of my head I guess!

Perhaps we could save the CEO's risking their honours if they are still in the running? There is a petition in another thread about saving IRIS which has limited popular appeal I imagine, however a petition that VIP clearance is suspended when waiting times are long so that staff may be re-allocated to the desks in the Immigration Hall might have wider support.
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Old Apr 26, 2012, 11:02 am
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I have just got back from LAS and I have never seen such long queues at T5 as there were today. Luckily Iris was open and empty so I skipped them all! All the E-gates were closed as usual. I really don't see the point in them if they are never working/staffed.
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Old Apr 26, 2012, 12:20 pm
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Originally Posted by Joely
I have just got back from LAS and I have never seen such long queues at T5 as there were today. Luckily Iris was open and empty so I skipped them all! All the E-gates were closed as usual. I really don't see the point in them if they are never working/staffed.
I totally 100% agree!

However, not that I am correcting Joely, but the people who call them E-gates in the first place, how can they be E-gates if they require BAA dragons to staff them?????
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Old Apr 26, 2012, 12:24 pm
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Originally Posted by geosat
Perhaps time has clouded my memory but I am sure when there was the Passport Office chaos of 1999 there was much more press coverage.

e.g. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1999/oct/25/davidhencke
"The cost [of a passport] could rise by £8 to £29"

If only it had stopped there! It's amazing how much worse immigration has got at a time when the cost of the document required to leave the country has almost quadrupled.
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Old Apr 26, 2012, 12:59 pm
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It looked like a zoo again tonight. My thoughts are that there is a strong positive correlation between the number of BAA "helpers" in the corridor outside and the length of the queue. They were there in abundance just now.

Fortunately I was transferring to a MAN flight and so bypassed the horrors and sailed though.

Unfortunately the CCR seems to have adopted UK border style policies for food production. Twenty minutes to get a plate of pasta. Had the MAN flight been on time I'd have had to leave before it arrived.
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Old Apr 26, 2012, 1:05 pm
  #194  
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Can we be honest? LHR T5 is already barely fit for purpose. Whether its Security, the shopping mall, the dodgy transit to/from T5B/C, Connections, The Border … is there anything apart from the Hallowed Halls of the CCR that actually works well?

I don't care who's responsible, whether it's BA, BAA, UKBA or ABBA, but everything after the spacious Departures/Check-in area seems to be dysfunctional.

How did Foster or whatever his name is get the job? Can he be stripped of his peerage? And how did everyone else manage to make it even worse?

I am really starting to detest T5.
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Old Apr 26, 2012, 1:08 pm
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Originally Posted by funkyr
Hmmm I guess immigration has the right to stop you, bring you aside and make sure you're legit... as to what offence there is for trying to walk pass I'm not sure. You cant be charged with entering the country illegally. There may be a law about mandatory passport checks - if you try to skip those even though your a UK citizen then there may be an issue?
I *think* (but am no means sure) that Section 3, paragraph 9 of the Immigration Act 1971 covers this in the form of a requirement to prove one's right of abode in the UK:

A person seeking to enter the United Kingdom and claiming to have the right of abode there shall prove it by means of—
(a)a United Kingdom passport describing him as a British citizen,
(b)a United Kingdom passport describing him as a British subject with the right of abode in the United Kingdom,
(c)an ID card issued under the Identity Cards Act 2006 describing him as a British citizen,
(d)an ID card issued under that Act describing him as a British subject with the right of abode in the United Kingdom, or
(e)a certificate of entitlement.
i.e. although one is indeed free of control and does not require an immigration officer's permission to enter, this freedom must be conversely exhibited to an immigration officer's satisfaction.
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