[Levin]

Rajeev Syal Home affairs editor
Sat 24 Dec 2022 16.08 GMT


Soldiers and sailors covering for striking Border Force staff at passport control do not have the power to detain people they suspect of criminal activity

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people suspected of crimes such as carrying a false passport, drug smuggling, people trafficking and victims of modern slavery cannot be stopped by members of the armed forces if they hold valid travel documents.

Instead, a separate intervention has to be sought for suspected serious criminals or their victims from a fully trained Border Force officer, most of whom are currently on strike.

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About 600 armed forces personnel and 200 civil servants from the Home Office have been brought in to cover for Border Force officers during the strike, which is due to continue every day of December except for 27 December.


https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022...ils-reveal

[Levin]

Airport strikes could go on for months

By Michael Race & Tom Espiner
Business reporter, BBC News


Strikes by Border Force staff at UK airports could go on for months unless the government enters talks over pay, the head of the PCS union has said.

Mark Serwotka said the union had a "mandate" for walkouts up until May.

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Thousands of travellers arriving in the UK had been told to expect delays but so far disruption has been minimal.

On the roads, however, there was "severe congestion" in some areas, according to the AA as the Christmas getaway gathered pace.

It said that rail strikes, which are due to restart on Saturday, had added to the larger number of cars on the road, while accidents on the M1 and a partial closure of the M25 due to flooding had caused major traffic jams.

Around 1,000 Border Force staff - many of whom check passports - are staging the first of a series of strikes from Friday to 26 December and from 28 to 31 December.

Employees are walking out at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow airports, as well as the Port of Newhaven. Military personnel and civil servants have been drafted in to cover strikers.


https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64060584

[Levin]

https://news.sky.com/story/passengers-wa...e-12774255