Foreign checks for airport staff

The rule will be introduced by the end of the year

People applying for security sensitive airport jobs will face foreign criminal records checks by the end of the year.

It follows a Newsnight investigation that discovered workers were not checked for a criminal record abroad.

The Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said the rule would be introduced for new applicants, not existing staff.

But she warned officials would have to overcome "a number of legal and practical challenges" before the new rules could be introduced.

'Varied and unpredictable'

Ms Kelly's comments followed the publication of a report on personnel security by Stephen Boys Smith commissioned by the government in December.

The Newsnight report on airport security

Currently, restricted pass holders at airports face a standard UK criminal records check.

In May, the BBC's Newsnight revealed that workers were not subject to overseas checks.

The report by Mr Boys Smith said the insider threat was "varied and unpredictable," and therefore personnel security measures had to mirror this in terms of flexibility and adaptability.

He said his recommendations would "never provide a 100% guarantee for personnel security".

But he said they aimed to "strengthen where there is weakness and ensure all reasonable steps have been taken to protect industry and the public from the threat from the terrorist insider".

Ms Kelly said in a written statement, in the long term she wanted to apply the new regime to less sensitive positions.

She added checks of this kind were primarily intended to reduce crime but they could also provide a useful additional check on an applicant's integrity.