Children WILL face 'naked' airport scans, Government rules



All selected children will have to go through the new full-body 'naked' scanning machines being introduced at airports, the Government said today.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis clarified the ruling as he announced a consultation process on the use of scanners.

Civil rights groups have raised legal and privacy concerns about the scanners, which have been introduced at Manchester and Heathrow airports following the failed transatlantic plane bomb attack last Christmas.



Gatwick and Birmingham will have the devices by the end of the year.

Baring all: A security officer puts himself through a full-body scanner at Manchester Airport, left. Objects hidden under his clothes - as well as the outline of his body, including genitals, buttocks and torso - are visible to the operator monitoring the resulting images, right

The Government said in its new code of practise: 'We will be requiring all children who are selected to be screened using the scanners. To do otherwise would risk undermining the effect of these new measures.

'Airport security staff have all been cleared to Government security-vetting level, which includes a check of criminal and security service records.



'Staff have received comprehensive initial training and regular refresher training in aviation security and customer service.'

The code went on: 'Staff have been trained in how to conduct their duties in a sensitive and proportionate manner.'

Just last week a scanner operator at Heathrow received a police warning for making a lewd comment to a colleague as she accidentally passed through the scanner.

Campaigners say the scanners, which act like a mini radar device 'seeing' beneath ordinary clothing, are an invasion of privacy.



Concern: Children will have to submit to 'naked' scans before flying

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has warned that the scanners breach privacy rules under the Human Rights Act for their naked images.



The exemption of under 18s from being scanned, which was in place during the trial of the machines in Manchester, has also been removed.

The Department for Transport has published an interim code of practice for the scanners.



The officer operating the machine never sees the image, and the employee viewing the scan must be in another room.

The Government said it noted concerns expressed under the Protection of Children Act but added that the Act also contained a section dealing with processes necessary for the purposes of prevention, detection or investigation of crime.

The Government said it believed its privacy controls were 'sufficient to give assurance to all passengers', but it was aware of the possibility that 'some individuals, such as transgendered, disabled or elderly passengers, or passengers with particular religious or other beliefs might, notwithstanding the existing privacy controls, have concerns about undergoing a security scan.'

The code went on: 'We believe that in such a situation the security officers have the necessary skills to be able to deal with the situation sensitively.'

Last week a House of Commons Transport Committee report supporting the use of scanners was published.



Some passengers, including two women travelling to Pakistan friom Manchester, have refused to go through the scanners and have been barred from boarding their plane.

