UK Border Force strike: Armed forces can’t detain people, emails reveal | strike

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The leaked documents show that soldiers and sailors covering striking Border Patrol agents at passport control do not have the authority to detain people suspected of criminal activity.

The emails reveal that people suspected of crimes such as carrying a false passport, drug trafficking, human trafficking and victims of modern slavery cannot be stopped by members of the armed forces if they have valid travel documents.

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

One Royal Navy officer warned in emails that the inability to hold could “affect the op [operational] ability during industrial work.”

The disclosure explains in a way why there has been little disruption to UK ports and airports since the PCS strike to improve wages and conditions that began on Friday.

One email, sent on December 22, shows that a Royal Navy officer wrote to Border Force and Home Office staff asking if Royal Navy personnel serving in Manchester had the authority to detain suspects.

He wrote: “RN personnel currently deployed to Manchester Airport are currently prohibited from completing and issuing IS81 and must not engage in detention activity,” referring to the BF officer. This may affect the ref. [operational] ability during industrial work.”

Form IS81 gives immigration officers the power to detain people while they conduct further investigations, according to Home Office documents. It must be issued even if a person is held for only two minutes because of a simple check.

A senior Border Police officer responded that the armed personnel had not been adequately trained to detain the suspects.

“I received the email below after my discussion with the Commander of the Navy C2 in Manchester. They said they could not issue the IS81 and it had to be done by a Border Force officer as there was only training up until the IS81. Could this be clarified urgently?

Another senior Interior Ministry official confirmed in an email: “It’s true. I’ve communicated this before. At the point any military needs it.” [sic] Unable to disembark a passenger, the permanent employee will need to issue an IS81 on their behalf.”

About 600 members of the armed forces, 200 civil servants from the Home Office and 200 civilian staff from HMRC were brought in to cover Border Force officers during the strike, which is set to last every day of December except for 27 December.

They had five days of training and were brought in to take people’s passports and check them against the ‘Warnings Indicator’ [WI]The Home Office watchlist database contains information such as past immigration history and national security matters.

Border guards are usually given a minimum of three weeks of training before interacting with the public. After three weeks, they are given a mentor to work alongside for up to a month to ensure they can work on their own at the passport office.

During training, they learn how to handle and interview passengers, identify victims of modern slavery, identify forged documents, identify suspected children of trafficking, and learn how to interrogate passengers.

General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Mark Sirotka, said: “The government has bragged that there are no queues at passport control, but of course there are no queues if no one is stopped.

No one has been stopped because the government has adopted a plaster-and-stick approach to address the problem.

“We warned before the start of the strikes that the military personnel who have undergone five days of training will not be able to perform the functions of experienced and professional border guard officers.

We have made it abundantly clear that the government can stop this conflict tomorrow by putting some money on the table.

Sources said there were “very few” fully trained Border Force guards in Manchester to help supervise the dozens of army officers checking passports.

Sources from Heathrow told the Guardian that military personnel covering Heathrow have been told they cannot detain people.

A Heathrow employee said: “Soldiers doing the cover have been told not to stop anyone unless evidence of a crime has been uncovered. [through the WI]. On immigration issues, they are told to bring everyone down.”

A source at the Ministry of Interior said that border guard officers who did not participate in the strike continued to work alongside members of the armed forces and other emergency personnel. “We want to minimize disruption during this conflict,” the source said.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Border Forces have developed robust contingency plans that prioritize keeping our citizens safe and securing our borders.

“Non-striking Border Force personnel, with a full range of appropriate authorities, continue to complete their vital roles and we have deployed our resources flexibly to ensure there is sufficient cover to meet our key priorities.

“Military personnel, civil servants and volunteers support a range of services and all deployed emergency personnel are adequately trained in the activities they are required to perform.”

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