Airport Security

All that I can say is that the hon. Gentleman did not see what it was like before. However, change is genuinely achievable. Perhaps I can close with a few comments that have been made before by my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hallam: if we are really going to have security, we need a national border force, bringing together the present border control functions of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the immigration and nationality directorate, and the police, with regard to both ports and airports. I shall not expound on that, but the Minister is, I think, very aware of that need. Also, we need to carry out exit checks. Those were taken away in 1994, but the Government seem to be dragging their feet about their reintroduction. I understand that, under present plans, they will not be in place until 2014, which is another generation. I think that my time has run out; I congratulate the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire on obtaining the debate, and I hope that we shall hear from the Minister that airport security will be given the attention and priority that it deserves.