Chaos at the opening of Heathrow’s Terminal 5 let foreigners enter the UK without proper security checks.

Overwhelmed staff let international passengers file through domestic arrivals rather than undergo lengthy UK Border checks, Border and Immigration Minister, Liam Byrne admitted.                                                                                             

Passengers 'misdirected'

In a Commons reply the minister wrote that passengers were 'misdirected' five times by either British Airways or British Airport Authority staff.

It was only when individual airlines supplied details on passengers that border staff could check names against Home Office security databases. Details were also passed on to the Metropolitan Police. The minister added in a separate answer:

"On no occasion was there any security alert, and none of the passengers presented a known terrorist risk."

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