Immigration minister visits Heathrow Airport​

The minister, who was appointed to her new post on Monday 8 January, was met and briefed by Border Force Heathrow Director Mike Stepney on the important role officers have in protecting the UK border.

She saw roving officers with responsibility for safeguarding and modern slavery, and was given an overview of arrivals controls including ePassport gates. The minister also witnessed detection activity in the customs channels, including x-ray scanning equipment for drug swallowers, and detector dogs at work.

The visit concluded with a demonstration of Border Force’s work on the tarmac and freight areas of the airport. This included a search of freight goods by detector dogs and an aircraft which had recently landed.