UK airports to get full-body scanners

The prime minister has announced that airports in the UK are to be equipped with full-body scanners in a bid to increase security.

Gordon Brown announced that the green light had been given to the initiative on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show following an attempted terrorist attack in the US on Christmas Day.

A man who is now in custody was accused of attempting to detonate a bomb during a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

Mr Brown revealed that BAA has already ordered the scanners and the airport operator is set to begin installation of the machines at Heathrow Airport in the near future.

A spokesman for BAA told BBC News: "It is our view that a combination of technology, intelligences and passenger profiling will help build a more robust defence against the unpredictable and changing nature of the terrorist threat to aviation."

The prime minister said that the use of full-body scanners would be introduced gradually and also revealed that hand luggage checks will be introduced to search for traces of explosives.

Authorities in the US responded to the attempted attack on Christmas Day by announcing tougher checks on people travelling from countries that are thought to have links with terrorism.

Posted by Mike, 04 January 2010 14:08

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