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Manchester Airport has introduced compulsory full-body scanning for ‘certain passengers’ in a bid to control the flow of dangerous terrorists onto British planes. Bosses have warned that refusal is not an option for anybody who wishes to fly.

The ‘naked scanner’ is not a popular piece of equipment. Critics have noted that the machine produces imagery that violates child pornography laws, and an attempt to make under-eighteens exempt from the scan was recently thrown out by the Government.

Further complaints include the sensitivity of the hardware – remarkably low, considering the hi-tech nature of global terrorism. The scanner cannot detect liquids or chemicals, both of which are used in homemade bombs.

Security staff seized a suitcase of white powder at Manchester last week, prompting the question – would a scanner have been able to detect the mysterious substance, and potentially save the lives of hundreds of travellers? Many experts say no.

The issue that continues to bother the cabinet concerns the identity of the passengers selected for full-body scanning. Civil rights campaigners fear that people from the Middle East and Africa could be unfairly targeted as potential terrorists, just because of their religion, or the way that they choose to dress.

Despite the accusations, the Government sees selective screening or ‘racial profiling’ as a very real alternative to traditional airport security measures. People who refuse to be scanned, due to modesty, for example, will be treated as potentially dangerous, and will be turned away from flights.

Heathrow and Birmingham airports join Manchester as pioneers of full-body scanning. The former has also begun compulsory screening, whilst the latter is due to receive a big parcel of scanners over the coming month.

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