Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what verification checks are conducted on the permitted US Homeland Security procedures at UK airports; who conducts these checks; in which department the people that conduct these checks are based; and when was the last time these checks were conducted.

Under the US Immigration Advisory Program, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have operated in an advisory capacity at Heathrow airport, since 2007, to support airlines in identifying passengers who may be inadmissible to the US and should not board flights to the US. This reflects an established recommended practice of Annex 9 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the Chicago Convention).

The CBP officers hold no authority in the UK, conduct no formal checks and can only advise airline staff. The decision whether or not to board a passenger rests with the airline.

We do not publish the specific details of the arrangement with the Department of Homeland Security for operational reasons.