Passengers bypassed T5 security

Terminal 5 ran into problems immediately after opening

International travellers entered the UK without going through a security check in the early days of Heathrow's Terminal 5, it has been revealed.

The mistake was made by British Airways or staff from airport operator BAA after T5's chaotic opening in March.

Checks over three sets of passengers misdirected through domestic arrivals at the airport were later made against Home Office security lists.

The government said the inquiries found no passenger presented a security risk.

In a written Commons answer, immigration minister Liam Byrne said: "On no occasion during these checks was there any security alert, and none of the passengers who entered the UK presented a known security risk."

International passengers were mistakenly ferried through domestic arrivals at the terminal on five occasions in March and April.

The mistake was spotted in time on two occasions, but in the remaining three instances passengers left before they could be redirected through international arrivals and its security checks.

Mr Byrne said British Airways supplied those passengers' details to allow UK Border Agency checks, as well as additional Metropolitan Police checks.

The minister added that a review was ordered into the mistakes.

The launch of the £4.3bn terminal was blighted by glitches in the new baggage-handling system that forced dozens of flights to be cancelled and saw thousands of bags stuck in a processing backlog.