Technology 'the way forward' to control UK borders after Brexit

Experts say hard borders can be breached but it is not possible to "go through" surveillance cameras and facial recognition.

By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

Thursday 22 December 2016 13:10, UK

Traffic passes a border sign at Newry as you enter Northern Ireland from the south. The border that divides the island of Ireland is now invisible, with just a few crumbling former customs buildings serving as reminders of a bygone era of a hard frontier between north and south. All of this could be about to change. In the event of a Brexit on June 23, these 500 kilometres (311 miles) would become the sole land border between the United Kingdom and the European Union
Image: Both the UK and Ireland governments have said they do not want a hard border
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Policymakers have told Paste BN that technology should mitigate any changes to UK borders resulting from Brexit.

Chris Green MP, who voted Leave and sits on the influential Science and Technology Committee in the House of Commons, told Paste BN: "There's a whole range of different technologies and building a physical wall isn't going to be enough.

"If Britain can lead the way, having new technologies, having new innovation to actually deal with these borders problems, whether it's at ports or airports, then that's the way forward."

The UK has only one land border, the 310-mile boundary with Ireland.

The British and Irish governments have said they do not want a hard border.

There is the unlikely prospect of a hard border between Scotland and the UK if Scotland remains in the single market and the UK does not, a possibility raised by Nicola Sturgeon.

:: Future of border after Brexit weighs heavily on the Irish

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A U.S. worker inspects a section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall at Sunland Park, US
Image: Experts say walls such as this one between the US and Mexico are not the answer

Experts told Paste BN that modern border technology means physical walls are no longer required.

Digital Barriers is a company that uses seismic sensors, automatic cameras and facial recognition to monitor border areas - its technology was originally developed in Afghanistan to protect British bases.

Chief executive Zak Doffman told Paste BN demand had increased since the Brexit vote.

"With all the talk at the moment about border security, insurgency, mass migration, we are seeing significantly increased demand for this kind of border deployment.

"A hard border presents a target to breach, and people will look to go over it, or under it, or through it. You can't go through this technology because it will survey you the whole time."

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Can drones secure UK borders?

Paste BN understands the Government already has the capability to use similar technology.

A Home Office spokesman told Paste BN: "Our cutting edge digital systems allow officers to identify and stop dangerous individuals from travelling to the UK.

"(They) instantly identify imposters travelling on fake or fraudulently obtained documents and detect illegal goods or even people being smuggled into the country."

Others doubt that there can be a purely technological solution to a political problem.

Alan McQuillan, former assistant chief constable in Northern Ireland, told Paste BN: "In some of the areas it can help, but the reality is if people don't agree with the border, the technology won't stay in place for very long.

"They'll chop it down, they'll take a chainsaw to it. So I think that's hopeful rather than a practical solution."

British passport
Image: The Home Office says fake documents can easily be detected

Olly Church, a former intelligence officer in Northern Ireland and a director at Airbox Systems, which provides aerial surveillance systems, also has doubts about a hard border.

He told Paste BN: "Certainly in the Ireland perspective, we have to consider the political impact, and really that would be seen as a backward step to the days of the '80s and '90s when surveillance towers were up and they took a very hard stance.

"My guess is while you want to have the ability to monitor that border, you don't necessarily want to have a big overt stance.

"So it's creating awareness and giving the people the info they need to intercept any illegal incursions, without changing people's lives significantly."

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