Only nine passengers arrested at Heathrow Airport during Border Patrol strike | Immigration and asylum

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Leaked figures showed fewer passengers being held for further checks at the UK’s busiest airport in the run-up to Christmas after the armed forces were asked to cover a strike by Border Force staff.

Just nine people were stopped at passport control and detained at Heathrow over the three strike days from 23-25 ​​December, compared to 189 over the same three days in 2021 – down 95%.

The data covers people who were initially discontinued using IS81 forms and then detained for further examinations. The figures include asylum seekers.

In contrast, at Manchester Airport, 27 passengers were stopped using the same powers over the same three-day period this year, a slight increase from 21 during the same days last year. The sources said that almost all of the 27 arrested this year were asylum seekers.

The figures were leaked to the Guardian amid a growing row over the role of members of the armed forces who police UK borders as members of the Chinese Communist Party union over a strike over pay and conditions.

Ministers have denied allegations that UK borders were less secure when staffed by members of the armed forces, after the Guardian revealed that replacement staff had only five days of training and no powers to detain suspected criminal activity.

Visiting Manchester Airport on Thursday, the defense secretary, Ben Wallace, said: “This allegation is pure propaganda spread by the unions. It’s not the case. I saw it today. I’m the former security secretary so I know exactly how borders work.”

But General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Mark Sirotka said on Friday that the figures showed the opposite.

“Ben Wallace accused us yesterday of propaganda when he warned passengers that they were waving at passport control because the military didn’t stop them. These numbers prove we were telling the truth.

For a government so obsessed with security, implementing just 5% of the usual stops raises serious concerns about our borders. The military is not a substitute for highly trained and experienced Border Force professionals who are trained to spot human trafficking victims and those who are denied entry into the country.”

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The latest strike by more than 1,000 border staff at six airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester and Glasgow – is due to end at 7am on Saturday.

There was little delay for the passengers as hundreds of military personnel and civil servants were brought in to cover the striking workers. Many passengers cleared passport control in less than five minutes.

The new numbers apply to people who were stopped, even for a few minutes, with IS81 forms and then detained for further examinations.

Form IS81 gives immigration officers the power to detain people while they conduct further investigations, according to Home Office documents. Many asylum seekers turn themselves in to the border guards upon arrival.

Soldiers, sailors, and civil servants who fill out Border Patrol are not allowed to issue IS81 forms because they have not received adequate training. A Border Force guard who continues to work during the strike must authorize the form form instead.

The Homeland Security Service has threatened to seek legal action if evidence is found that new arrivals to the UK are being passed without proper checks.

Soella Braverman, the Home Secretary, has said repeatedly that her number one responsibility is the security of the nation.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Border Force’s number one priority is maintaining a secure border and we have not compromised on this. The Guardian’s own figures show more people were detained at Manchester Airport this year than last year.

“Non-strike Border Force personnel, with the full range of appropriate powers, continue to complete their vital roles, including stopping and detaining passengers when required, with the support of military personnel and civilian volunteers.”

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