Security Agents Caught Reading, Sleeping On The Job

A United States Congressman says Britain's Birmingham Airport has such lax security, he wants all flights to the US from that airport halted.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the Congress Homeland Security Committee, called for the suspension after viewing results of a six-month secret investigation conducted for a British television program, according to the United Press International.

"The flights should be stopped until we get better trained personnel to do the job required to guarantee the safety of passengers," Thompson said.

On the film, one guard reportedly brags about getting his job in spite of having criminal convictions for assault and drunken driving, according to the UPI.

Security guards at the airport were caught, on film, sleeping, working puzzles and reading instead of checking bags and passengers for weapons.

Speaking about filmed lapses on a particular flight to New York, Thompson said, "There are so many things that have compromised that flight that I saw that nothing short of stopping it, and some sort of certification by some official that the standards are being met, should be the only reason that those flights should be allowed to start again."

Security responsibility is shared between the airport and private firms such as ICTS UK, a large aviation security company, according to the Sun News. An airport spokesman said the allegations related solely to ICTS had already been dealt with.

ICTS UK employees were filmed leaving planes unguarded and failing to check passengers' shoes, a measure introduced after 9/11, according to The Telegraph. The newspaper speculates these security lapses could lead to the US intensifying a call for British Pakistanis to first apply for a visa before traveling to America.

The security company said it fears "some security procedures may have been misunderstood."

David Davis, Member of Parliament and shadow home secretary, said, "These weaknesses create risks in immigration, international crime and terrorism and we need to hear what the Government is doing at Birmingham airport to protect public safety."

The footage was made possible by Colin Cross, an ICTS employee-turned-whistleblower because he was concerned about passenger safety.

"Sooner or later a terrorist will get on board a flight," he said.

"A number" of ICTS staff have been suspended as a result of the film and the company said it launched its own investigation as well.

Airport officials insist their security system is "sound" but would conduct an investigation, nevertheless.

FMI: www.bhx.co.uk, http://benniethompson.house.gov/hor/ms02/