CUSTOMS COVER AT UK POINTS OF ENTRY

That this House welcomes the recent report by Lord Carlile, the Government's Independent Reviewer of anti-terrorism and national security legislation, on the lack of a customs presence at ports and airports across the country; notes the past successes of staff in Customs and Excise in detecting and preventing prohibited materials, including drugs and firearms from entering communities; encourages the Paymaster General and Chairman of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs urgently to meet the custom officers' union, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) to address these issues and to ensure the Chancellor's efficiency savings do not further hamper securing the nation's borders; and calls on the Government to open an inquiry into customs cover at UK points of entry in order to address the concerns raised by Lord Carlile and PCS about the inadequate customs cover at all UK points of entry and to provide real solutions for secure UK borders.