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Heathrow queues appalling - MP
Damian Green must explain why half the immigration desks at Heathrow Airport were closed on Monday morning despite long queues of passengers waiting to enter the country, a Labour MP said.
Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, said he was appalled at the length of queues at 7am and that he would ask the Immigration Minister to explain the situation to MPs on Tuesday.
His comments come just over two weeks before the Olympics start and after shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said it was a disgrace that international athletes were waiting longer than two hours to pass through immigration control.
Mr Vaz said: "I was appalled by the length of queues in the immigration hall this morning. It is now two months since the Immigration Minister promised additional resources and better management.
"The worst aspect was that half of the immigration desks were simply not opened even though the Border Force had prior knowledge of all flight arrivals. This creates additional security pressures with luggage piling up in the baggage hall. We look forward to hearing the Immigration Minister's explanation for this tomorrow."
Queues at Heathrow Airport were more than an hour for non-EU passengers, despite a 45-minute target, when Mr Vaz visited Terminal 4 at 7am, his spokeswoman said.
Copyright Press Association 2012
