Main airport operator 'squeezes out police' in favour of shops, report says

Anti-terrorist measures at some airports and ports are being undermined because commercial companies are refusing to give police room to run their investigations, a government inspection has found.

Some of the facilities used by Special Branch officers at airports and ports were described as "abysmal" and insecure. Lucrative rentals from shops and duty-free outlets were given priority in some cases over offices for detectives trying to identify suspected terrorists, child abductors and organised criminals.

The report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary also found that many of the Special Branch teams were too small – having as few as six officers – to cope with possible chemical, biological and nuclear terror attacks.

While praising the work of Special Branch officers, the Inspectorate discovered that in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks the facilities, structure and computer systems of the intelligence squads were "inadequate", "insufficient" and "weak".

The inspectors noted: "Facilities at some ports and airports were abysmal, inappropriate siting, insufficient space and lack of security were common problems."

A similar problem was identified in a report on terrorism by Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, published by the Home Office in November, which said: "At Heathrow the police are often operating in cramped and inadequate accommodation." He also noted that senior BAA managers, who run Heathrow, told him that there were no or few complaints about accommodation from Special Branch officers, which was in direct contradiction to what the police had told him.

But a spokeswoman for BAA, which owns six of the country's airports, said that if Customs, the immigration department and the police shared their offices there would be adequate space for everyone.