In a letter sent on Tuesday to Lord Adonis, Secretary of State for Transport, the Commission said lack of clarity on the selection criteria for scans and lack of safeguards could mean they are not used in “a lawful, fair and non-discriminatory manner”.
“The Commission also has serious doubts that the decision to roll this system out in all UK airports complies with the law or properly assesses the impact it may have,” the letter said.
At present, anyone chosen to have a full body scan must comply or they will be barred from taking their flights.
In its letter the Commission said it understands why the government would not make public the selection criteria for scans. “However, we consider that it is very likely that some criteria, for example, religious dress, destination, nationality, or national origin, would also have an unlawful directly or indirectly discriminatory effect.
“As things stand, there is too little transparency and too much scope for arbitrariness and wrongful discrimination for the Interim Code to be capable of complying with the law.”
The first scanners were used in Heathrow and Manchester airports on February 3rd this year after the failed attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up a jet bound for Detroit on Christmas Day.
Soon after the 9/11 crisis, temporary emergency security measures were immediately set out in airports. These were expanded and made more specific and now include:
* random searching of hold baggage for flights to the USA or Canada prior to, or immediately after, check-in
* more searching by hand of passengers and their cabin baggage upon entry to the Restricted Zone, plus secondary searching at the departure gate for flights to the USA and Canada
* an expanded list of articles which cannot be taken into the Restricted Zone or the aircraft cabin
* screening or searching of goods for retail upon entry to the Restricted Zone
* guards within the Restricted Zone for aircraft departing to the USA or Canada
* additional mobile patrols within the Restricted Zone.
The Commission’s action comes days after a fatwa was issued by a council of 10 scholars affiliated with the Islamic Society of North America saying body scanning would violate Islamic rules on modesty.
The American Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says that people can opt for a one-on-one body pat down by a same-sex airport official instead.
