People shouldn’t have to choose between their dignity and their flight

Is there any basis in law that airports can actually stop people boarding a flight if they refuse a scan?

…so I suppos we’re down to “how sympathetic will a business contact be if one doesnt show up at a meeting because of refusing to be body scanned”. We’re going to need solidarity here, and a boycott.

“Tory front” – – read this: http://conservativehome.blogs.com/centreright/2010/01/the-tory-crime-manifesto.html

Scanners and the rest of the security hype such as the TSA in the US (“Thousands Standing Around”) are just pocket-lining scams such as Y2K and, it seems, man-made global warming.
The reason why the current situation is different from the one we had with the IRA is that the current situation is promoted by the US government which was, as a rule, ambivalent to say the least about the IRA (despite that political fairytale called the special relationship). Our leaders, of course, have long wished to crack down on our civil liberties and human rights and now have the perfect opportunity to do so: then they go into complete over-kill mode and “gold-plate” measures suggested by the US which remains a land of freedom with strong democratic safeguards compared to the UK. See this article: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2009/1230/Number-of-full-body-scanners-at-US-airports-to-triple-in-2010

I thought the ECHR had advised them these scanners are likely to breach the existing human rights conventions? Looks like we’ll have to rely on Europe to protects us from our government …again

I do not object to a sniffer dog, or an x-ray machine or a pat down by a security officer, BUT I draw a line concerning these scanners. There are far too intrusive, and I certainly wouldn’t feel very comfortable about stepping into one.
They give a false sense of security as the terrorists will find a way around it. The would be Xmas Day bomber was already on a watch list, checked in no luggage and had a one way ticket – surely that should have been enough to set alarm bells ringing.

MI5 reports that terrorists are already looking to use explosives implanted inside their bodies which will defeat these machines. What will be the next security policy to fly? A quick anal probe before each flight?

I have followed the whole development of the introduction of full body scanning with, I must say, disgust.
Many issues arise this.
The matter of these being introduced without a full and enforceable code of conduct is one issue . The introduction of such scanners should only be done when this code is agreed in full and enforceable.
“The images from the scanners cannot be saved, transferred or printed and are deleted immediately.” A statement from Heathrow’s head of security and echoed by Lord Adonis. If these CANNOT be saved then there is NO need to delete. You can only delete what can be saved. What are we not being told? Another guardian article stated very clearly that these machines have the capacity to store and therefore the capacity to reproduce images.
Is there an independent watchdog to monitor the use of these machines?
Security staff at Heathrow and other airports are CIVILIANS and under our law cannot legally “strip search” anyone. As these searches have been deemed to be strip searches due to the naked images they produce then civilians should NOT be in control of them or able to observe them – that is in the sole remit of Airport police.
Lord Adonis has stated that passengers have NO right to refuse them – as these are not legal due to the fact they are being carried out by civilians then ALL passengers do have the right to refuse until a police officer replaces the civilians.
Again, one head of security at an airport (Gatwick, I believe) who stated that the use of the more invasive software that causes many of the privacy issues to arise is a choice not a necessity. This is something we should all challenge and if necessary challenge in court. The use of the software that protects privacy does not, contrary to their statements and upheld by security experts, compromise security.
The whole area of health issues has Not been adequately investigated, either. No independent research has shown that there is no health issues by the use of “low level X-rays” or “radio waves”. This is especially important for frequent fliers.
Finally. Lord Adonis has gone on public record as putting this form of searching in “the category of pat down searches”. As the nature of the images produced are in the realms of “naked body” this hardly holds up to public scrutiny and can only be regarded as laughable.
We are not all fools.
The employment of such technology should only be on the grounds of:
Strict protection of the rights of the individual to privacy (human rights issue)
Carried out by those entitled to do so under the law (police service, army etc)
Independently monitored and breaches of the code enforceable in law
Targeted – which means led by intelligence
Have an alternative for those who have real issues with this practice
And take into account what has been stated earlier.
The Tories should be challenged on the issue of whther or not they will reverse this decision – if not then they like the Labour party should not be in office