§ Mr. Ian TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he has taken to apply the findings on airport security of the sheriff principal in the Lockerbie fatal accident inquiry; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe sheriff principal's report is being studied most carefully by the Department. Only one of the 20 findings referred directly to the Department.
The Department has required the industry to apply additional security controls to all unaccompanied bags. It is also discussing with representatives of airlines new procedures to ensure that all bags to be flown are properly authorised.
Technology for carrying out reconciliation checks on large volumes of baggage is becoming available and is being introduced by airlines. It is not yet sufficiently widespread or co-ordinated to enable the Department to impose a general requirement for its use by all airlines. We are pursuing this with the industry and international bodies. In practice, at airports in the United Kingdom, British Airways and other major airlines substantially meet the requirements indentified by the sheriff principal.