HC Deb 01 December 1997 vol 302 cc84-5W
Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department has issued to(a) ferry and (b) Channel Tunnel Operators concerning the stamping of passports of passengers; and if he will make a statement. [18075]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

No official written guidance has been provided by the United Kingdom Passport Agency on the practice of stamping passengers' passports. I fully support the ferry and Channel Tunnel operators in their efforts to deal effectively with the unacceptable behaviour of certain passengers but the private stamping of passports by the ferry companies is an unorthodox approach which we have not sanctioned.