WHO SCANS WINS

SAS bid to stop jihadis returning to UK scuppered over refusal to use iris scanners at our airports... don’t they know:

A TOP-secret SAS operation to stop Islamic terrorists returning undetected to Britain has been thwarted by the Government’s refusal to install high-tech eye-scanners at airports.

Over the past three months, SAS troops in Syria have recorded the iris measurements of hundreds of jihadis captured on the battlefield, to identify them in case they try to sneak back into Britain.

But while the United States is installing £125,000 iris-scanners at its airports, the Home Office is refusing to use the technology at Britain’s borders, even though it is considered the most accurate method of identifying terrorists.

Last night, security experts called for eye-scanners to be used. Their warning follows MI5 chief Andrew Parker’s announcement that Britain is facing an unprecedented threat from jihadis, with 850 expected to return to Britain from the war zone.

Raffaello Pantucci, of the Royal United Services Institute think-tank, said: ‘Many jihadis are returning or travelling to the UK with deadly intent, while others will seek to recruit a new generation of terrorists to the cause.

‘Therefore every hightech advantage should be used to monitor their movements. Eye-scanning is by far the best method of identification as it is the most accurate and almost impossible to replicate.’ SAS sources have told The Mail on Sunday that elite British soldiers intercepted jihadis as they withdrew from areas of Syria where Islamic State has recently suffered heavy defeats, such as Raqqa. Troops recorded their iris measurements and eye-colour patterns, which are unique.

The scanners turned these eye patterns into 500-digit code numbers and added them to a database, which UK and US intelligence agencies intend to use to track jihadis around the world.

An SAS source said: ‘We’ve witnessed a mass migration of jihadis from territories previously held by Islamic State.

‘As intelligence suggests that many of them remain committed to carrying out terrorist acts, it is important we know who they are and track their movements.

‘Iris-scanning is a fast and failsafe method of identifying bad guys. Given that we are scanning as many terrorists as we can here, it is a shame to learn that eye-scanners are off the security agenda in the UK.’

While Donald Trump has ordered a rapid roll-out of eye-scanners at US airports, the Home Office confirmed last night it has no plans to use the technology.

It remains committed to e-passports that hold more basic biometric data, despite problems since their introduction in 2006. Between 2012 to 2016, funding for security at Britain’s borders was cut by 19 per cent, while 1,000 border guards were axed. These factors were blamed for the e-gates at UK airports – which work with the e-passports – frequently being closed.

Eye-scanners were withdrawn from several major British airports in 2012 but the cost of producing the devices has since fallen.

The Home Office said: ‘Iris recognition was decommissioned in 2012 when the support contract expired. A decision was made at the time not to replace the system because e-passport gates were being introduced and these could be used by a greater number of passengers.’

‘This is a failsafe way to spot the bad guys’