What happened to free movement within the EU?

Why were measures like these not necessary during all those years of the IRA bombing the mainland?

Hey, let's copy everything the Americans do! Again.

Pre departure checks should be banned in Europe

The problem is the false positives, it's very common for the UK airlines to refuse entitled citizens passage to the UK based on false positive matches. Now they want pre-entry customs checks too. As long as they can pre-check and pre-refuse entry , then you will refuse entry to a lot of false positives without a judicial process.

We've seen the problems that occur in the USA with the Dept Homeland Security watch lists, and it shouldn't be repeated in Europe.

As the UK increases it's 'fortress UK' initiative, they'll only increase the barrier between the UK and Europe, which is counter to the duty under article 3c of the Treaty of Rome.

My view on this is UK is out of step with Europe and it's just too far out on a limb to reconcile now. Just as the USA is telling Europe that the visa waiver program is dead and each person must be individually checked days in advance, so the UK is telling Europe that Free Movement of people is dead, and individuals need to seek pre permission to travel to the UK.

Terrorism is just an excuse, 7/7 terrorists lived in Leeds not Lille.

"The high number of arrests linked to Semaphore alerts demonstrates a visible measure of success. In addition, significant contributions have been made in support of investigations and the protection of the vulnerable."

How many convictions, shitlips? How many false imprisonments? You don't tell us so there must be a really crap ratio. That's how Government abuse of statistics works. Not that you should be having anything to do with Government, being a Police Officer.

I can not help but think that the U.K is ever more sliding into extremism. Not just affected by Islam fanaticism, but effected by it or just an excuse despite it, the U.K government is forcing Anti-Terrorist extremism onto the whole public.

I do not doubt that Islam fanatacists exist (as do other types of fanatic). I do not doubt that many of those fanatics wish to see the end of western science, society and democracy. I do not doubt that we need to change their views, box them in or fight them to save our civilization. But I do doubt that our government needs to enforce Big Brother to keep us all in check.

I hope for a brighter future here in the U.K and the rest of democratic civilization. A future not dogmatised by any religious, philosophical or ideological extremism in government and society; a future where liberty to freely speak and freely act without fear of persecution and intimidation from any extremist or member of the political correctness brigade. Perhaps we should all try to remember the maxim "One man's freedom ends where another man's begins." Change "where another man's begins" to "where it begins to encroach another man's..." and perhaps it will be more livable but the sentiment remains the same, namely: try not to take away another's freedom. Obviously, the maxim is not always feasible. Sometimes another's freedom has to be encroached to defend one's own. With this in mind, I understand that our government has to use its resources to defend us from non-democratic Islamic fanaticists. I also understand that we, the public, have a duty to help our government defend us. But it seems that our government's freedom to create law and fear is encroaching on our (the citizens') freedom to live without fear of the extremism and intimidation of the government's anti-terrorism laws as well as those behaviors of other extremists. It's time the government began to work with the people not against the people. And it's time the people were given the opportunity to work with the government without having our lives closely inspected and recorded with the results being used to intimidate us into obedience.

Perhaps we should establish what we are trying to defend before we try to defend it. Because, at the moment (and I doubt I'm alone), I can see ever more of our boundaries and fewer of our freedoms allowing us to surpass them. We should remember that we are a nation of human beings, that human beings have rights and that one of those rights is the right to live not as slaves and sub-ordinates to others but as equals with equal freedom to live freely according to our abilities and to maximize our capabilities without forcing suffering onto others. I know we give-up and willingly compromise some rights when we live within a protective, nurturing society but we should not allow ourselves to be forced to surrender additional rights without first being asked.

Now this could be fun - let's assume its the bags open, coats off, shoes off, everythig but the Marygold glove of freedom treatment you get at airports these days.

How precisely is that going to be done in the 5 minutes between a train being announced and the doors closed? Or are we going to have to have 2 hour check-in times for the 09.20 to Droitwich?

The milling crowds at all major stations will always be a target, just as people waiting for check-in are soft targets.

This is nothing more than good old-fashioned Home Office fearmongering ahead of Jacqui Smith's first lock-em-up-an'-throw-away-the-key internment bill.

1. On past experience UK government computer systems usually perform in an inverse ratio to the cost, bigger the cost = more time to build and lower functionality i.e. NHS computer system.

This one will cost £1.2b so they would be better off with an abacus.

2. Will this stop the illegals coming in through the tunnel? I don't think so, we need them to clean our streets and make the country a safer place by clogging up our prisons because god forbid, we couldn't send them home when they commit violent crimes it's against their 'uman rights!