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Airport trials face-scanning technology

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Kable

Published: 20 Aug 2008 10:52 BST

The UK Border Agency has started trials of facial-recognition technology to check passports at Manchester Airport.

Gates equipped with facial-recognition scanning equipment are comparing the faces of UK and European passengers to their electronic passports. The trial, which began today, is expected to last six months and if successful will be rolled out to other ports in the UK.

As e-passport holders approach the gates, the document is checked for authenticity and the eligibility of the passenger to enter the country. If the checks are satisfactory, the passenger passes through a first set of gates.

In the next stage of the process, the passenger is asked to look into a mirror which takes their photograph and compared this to the image in the passport chip. A passenger failing any of these tests could be refused entry.

Additional manual tests will be carried out by border-force officers on a random basis, as well as interventions at any point if the officers have suspicions about a passenger.

"These checks make up just one part of Britain's triple ring of security, alongside fingerprint visas for three-quarters of the world's population, and the roll out of ID cards for foreign nationals locking people to one identity", said home secretary Jacqui Smith.

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The launch of the pilot coincided with publication of Home Office plans for the UK's new border force. The document outlines how the merger of customs and immigration forces will be completed, creating a larger team with the ability to work across the entire UK Border Agency agenda.

The plans include a commitment to make increasing use of technology to improve the government's ability to screen people and goods as they enter the UK.

By 2011, the government aims to capture and check the fingerprints of all non-European Economic Area visitors to the UK travelling without a fingerprint visa.

The Home Office said automatic number-plate recognition technology, already in place at 10 ports, will be upgraded by spring 2009. It is also working on better information-sharing systems with the police, to give border control officers better coverage both at ports and inland.