DON’T forget your passport!
Ferry passengers travelling to the Isle of Wight could soon have to show identity papers under a new anti-terrorist crackdown.
The Government’s latest plan would also see passengers’ personal data, including name, date of birth, home address and travel plans, passed to the police whenever a ticket booking is made.
It means that police will be able to track the travel plans of thousands of commuters, day-trippers and holidaymakers every day on the Red Funnel services between Southampton and Cowes and the Wightlink service from Lymington to Yarmouth.
Officers will also have the power to stop anyone travelling on the ferry services, at any time, to ask for some sort of photo ID, including a passport or driving licence.
The measures detailed in the Government’s latest anti-terrorist strategy offer “new police powers to collect advanced passenger data on some domestic air and sea journeys”.
The Isle of Wight would be one of a number of destinations where passengers would have to carry ID papers, with Scottish islands such as Mull and Skye also included.
A Home Office spokesman told the Daily Echo that Government officials were “considering” introducing the anti-terror powers under the Police and Justice Act 2006.
They had tried to do so in 2007 but the plans had been dropped following protests from Ulster politicians.
However, the spokesman said new legislation would have to be passed before police could begin to collect people’s personal data and travel plan details.
Under the new laws passengers could also be forced to show some sort of ID when they book their tickets and when they travel.
The new legislation would mean passengers showing ID when they book.
Their personal details and travel plans would be typed, by a booking clerk, onto a police computer record.
The Home Office spokesman said it was “too early to say” whether passengers would face ID checks while they were travelling.
Kerry Jackson, marketing manager for Wightlink, which runs services between Lymington and Yarmouth, said: “We have not seen any firm guidance from the Government yet but we will obviously comply with whatever is implemented in order to ensure the safety of our passengers.”
No one was available from Red Funnel, which runs the Red Jet passenger services and car ferries between Southampton and Cowes.
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