HC Deb 11 April 1983 vol 40 c313W
Mr. Les Huckfield

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many ports and airports are now linked to his Department's computerised travellers' suspects index; how many names are on the index; what are the criteria for inclusion; and, in particular, whether these include political views.

Mr. Waddington

The prototype installation at Heathrow, terminal 3, is at present the only computerised Warning List system in use at British ports and airports. The main warning list holds some 18,000 names. However, since only United States passports are, as yet, machine-readable, the data-base is limited to a United States sub-set of the main Warning List.

The main criteria for inclusion in the Warning List are that the persons concerned represent a serious threat to the public good, public order or national security and might otherwise not be identified. The criteria do not otherwise take account of political views.