Thank you for your email of 24 August to the Freedom of Information Team in which you raised questions regarding the procedures for dealing with British citizens at the primary checkpoint. This falls to be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The Immigration Act 1971 states that British citizens are not subject to United Kingdom (UK) immigration control and can obtain entry via the EU/EEA channel. British citizens are only obliged to satisfy an Immigration Officer as to their nationality and identity and this is usually done by way of presenting a British passport. Once entitlement is established such passengers pass freely through the primary checkpoint.

Whilst British citizens are free to enter and leave the UK, Immigration Officers do have the power under Section 1(1) of the 1971 Act to question anyone presenting a British passport in order to establish that they are the rightful holder of the document. I am sure you will appreciate that British passports which have been forged/fraudulently obtained or are being used by impostors present a significant risk to the security of our borders. Immigration Officers may therefore ask relevant questions by which to determine the passenger's familiarity with the UK and its language and how the passport itself was acquired.

Furthermore, since the formation of the UK Border Agency in April 2008, immigration staff assessed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as suitable to carry out HMRC functions on the primary checkpoint have additionally been conferred with certain Customs powers. Under Section 78 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 and Part 1 Paragraph 3 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, Immigration Officers may ask questions with regard to goods in baggage and since allowances differ depending on where such goods were purchased, asking the passenger where he has arrived from is considered a routine and legitimate Customs enquiry.

With regard to your third question as to what information is collected and recorded, I can tell you that no information is gathered or kept on genuine British travellers. Neither is any information recorded when an officer politely engages with a passenger about where they have journeyed from, as this serves no immigration purpose.

If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent internal review of our handling of your request. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the UK Border Agency sending a substantive reply to your original request and should be addressed to:

Head of Information Access Policy Team

(Freedom of Information)

11^th floor - short corridor

Lunar House

40 Wellesley Road

Croydon

CR9 2BY

During the independent review the department's handling of your information request will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. Should you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you will have a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.

I hope that you find this information of interest, and would like to assure you that you have been supplied with all disclosable information that the UK Border Agency holds. Where information has been withheld, I would like to assure you that we have considered the application of exemptions with great care in this case. 

Yours sincerely

S. Savoury

Border Force Policy Implementation, Border Force