"London mayor on UK airports: They'll let anyone in"

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Livingstone on airports/ they'll let anyone in
United Kingdom - The Daily Telegraph


He may be backing London's bid to hold the 2012 Olympics, but in a
surprising outburst that is hardly likely to bolster the capital's cause,
Ken Livingstone has revealed his deep unease at the state of British airport
security.

"One of my criticisms of the Immigration Service into Britain and the
Customs Service is just how little there is in the way of detailed
checking," says the Mayor of London. "Anybody who has visited Australia,
where virtually all your baggage is checked, would be much more reassured,"
he adds.

During 40 years of travelling abroad, Livingstone claims he has only ever
been stopped twice on entering the country. "One of those was as a student
with a large, suspicious rucksack, which they thought might be full of
drugs; it actually contained a number of preserved frogs for my natural
history collection."

The other occasion was when he went through the "goods to declare" channel.
"I explained that I had an extra bottle of brandy over the limit, but they
said: `It will take hours to do the paperwork, just go on through'."


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