Sri Lanka anger at UK visa moves

The Sri Lankan parliament was suspended briefly on Wednesday amid heated protests at Britain's plans to fingerprint all visa applicants wanting to travel to the UK.

Biometric data will be stored for 10 years

Opposition MPs said Sri Lanka's Government had sacrificed the country's "dignity and self respect" by agreeing to the pilot scheme.

One opposition MP has filed a court case alleging that Sri Lankan citizens are being treated like criminals.

The British High Commission introduced the six-month project in July as part of a drive to reduce fraudulent asylum claims.

The programme is intended to help British officials detect asylum seekers who destroy their passports once they reach the UK.

Test case

Wednesday's parliament session was disrupted after Speaker Joseph Michael Perera tried to stop discussion of the fingerprinting scheme.

Sittings were suspended for 10 minutes while the furore was brought under control.

The BBC's correspondent in Colombo, Frances Harrison, says Sri Lankans are generally inclined to be fairly Anglophile.

But she says the thought of being fingerprinted for a British visa has made some people very angry.

Announcing the pilot scheme earlier in July, British Home Office Minister Beverley Hughes said: "Sri Lanka has been selected for this pilot as Sri Lankan nationals continue to make significant numbers of unfounded asylum applications - and to use false identities in the process."

The Home Office intends to roll out the use of biometric data to other countries if the pilot scheme is deemed successful.