British border guards banned from X-raying lorries - can cause radiation harms to migrants !!!

Cargo gets transported by various modes -  one among the most popular ways is ‘containers’ –   and how would authorities check what is inside that big metal box ?

X-radiation (X-rays) is a form of electromagnetic radiation. In many languages, X-radiation is referred to with terms meaning Röntgen radiation, after Wilhelm Röntgen. The heart of an X-ray machine is an electrode pair -- a cathode and an anode -- that sits inside a glass vacuum tube. Cargo scanning or non-intrusive inspection (NII) refers to non-destructive methods of inspecting and identifying goods in transportation systems. It is often used for scanning of intermodal freight shipping containers.

Away in UK, at least 24 of the migrants who made it to Britain hiding in the back of two lorries have already been given their freedom. All 51 stowaways had claimed asylum and the remaining 27 men, women and children who were discovered sneaking into the country were expected to have been let out shortly after they were held.  One of the trucks arrived in the UK on Wednesday, hours after Home Secretary Theresa May announced toughened border security following the Brussels suicide bombings in which 31 were killed and 270 wounded.

Photographs of stowaways crammed like sardines in the back of one lorry were published in many British dailies. It was a damning illustration of how Britain has lost control of its borders – and fuelled fears about the rigour of security checks during the current terror alert. All 51 migrants are understood to have claimed they were fleeing war, persecution and humanitarian disaster in Iran, Iraq and Syria.

A day later, most had been processed at the Kent Intake Unit, where they were offered food, drink and medical attention, and underwent security screening. After this was completed, they were officially classed as asylum seekers – then released from the centre to specialist accommodation or to live with family with instructions only to report in intermittently. The whole process took no more than 96 hours.

More curious is the news that British border guards have been banned from X-raying lorries while searching for illegal immigrants at French ports in case the radiation harms the stowaways' health.  MailOnline quotes Lucy Moreton from the Immigration Services Union as stating  that her members are only permitted to use the scanners at ports in France when searching for smuggled or illegal goods. The revelation comes as it emerged that at least 24 of the migrants who made it to Britain hiding in the back of two lorries earlier this week have already been given their freedom.

Mrs Moreton told The Times: ‘The French will not allow us to use them for looking for illegals. They only allow us to use scanners to search for contraband, not people.’ Speaking to the newspaper’s reporters, she added that the machines are 'very, very slow to operate, taking about an hour per each vehicle'. She also suggested that increased borders checks in the wake of the Brussels attacks are likely to only last for two weeks because the ‘stepped up’ level cannot be maintained.

Asked if there was the political will, she replied: ‘Experience from past would suggest that it isn't. The increased checks at the border last about two weeks, or that's how long they lasted after the Paris attacks.’ Meanwhile, an independent report from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration found plans to remove foreign criminals and illegal immigrants were cancelled in 40 per cent of cases.

That truck carrying stowaways arrived in UK on Wednesday, hours after Home Secretary Theresa May announced toughened border security following the Brussels suicide bombings in which 31 were killed and 270 wounded.

Another time, another case of rules improperly interpreted.

Regards – S. Sampathkumar

25^th Mar 2016.