Sadiq Khan urges Government to prevent 'chaos' with post-Brexit border checks
A new passport check system is coming into force later this year
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has urged the Government to prevent "chaos" at the country's borders ahead of a new passport system coming into force.
Following Brexit, the UK and the European Union had arranged a deal to continue to accept biometric passports, that allow for electronic scanning.
Later this year, however, things will change as the EU launches a new system to protect its external borders, with a new biometric entry/exit system being introduced.
Brussels' new system is expected to be introduced in October and will require those coming into the EU to register biometrics about themselves, including facial and fingerprint scans when they first enter the bloc.
Khan urged ministers not to "wash their hands" of the potential for red tape surrounding the issue, as he admitted the UK may not be properly prepared ahead of the switch.
Whilst air travel is largely expected to stay the same, those travelling from Europe to London through the Eurostar will be most affected by the changes.
"The success of the Eurostar is a vital part of London's and the UK's economic success - with St Pancras a gateway for huge numbers of tourists and businesspeople in the country," Sadiq explained.
"As it stands these new post-Brexit checks will cause chaos at St Pancras, with cuts to services and potentially huge queues facing passengers at peak times," he continued. "This is directly a result of Brexit, and it's not an issue ministers can now wash their hands of.
"With London's economy roaring back after the pandemic, this sends a terrible signal to both tourists and businesses from around the world."
High Speed 1 (HS1), which is in charge of services that connect the Channel Tunnel and London said that government preparations were "severely inadequate" and that long passenger queues and delays were likely.
The firm added that should ministers not implement things properly, a possible capping on the number of passengers allowed in the UK may be brought in, causing more travel woes for travellers.
HS1 had also spoken to ministers to be better prepared, and that by deciding not to enable online pre-registration, more strain would be put on already overwhelmed infrastructure at St Pancras.