Just as MPs were grilling immigration minister Damian Green on reports of lengthy queues at Britain’s ports and airports, the Dynasty star and author tweeted to her 68,000 followers: “Arrived LHR after great trip on @British_Airways but 1000s waiting at passport control – listen up Ms. May – need more officers!”
Heathrow operator BAA said that queues at Terminal 5 yesterday lunchtime – when Collins arrived from Los Angeles – were not as bad as on Monday.
“The queues have been markedly reduced in recent days since the problems at immigration became more high profile,” a spokesman said.
Immigration minister Green told yesterday’s home affairs committee that even if all passport controls are fully manned, this does not guarantee shorter queues.
“That will depend on the wind, over which . . . airlines and the Border Force don’t have the control,” he said.
Green added that three times as many passengers as had been expected arrived at Heathrow on Monday, suggesting that airlines should shoulder some of the blame.
“The better the information the Border Force can have from the airlines, the more likely it is the right numbers of people will be at the right desks at the right time,” he said.
Last year, home secretary Theresa May was denounced for ordering less thorough passport checks to ease delays at airports – something that some airlines are now asking she reinstate.
Picture: Getty
