'Border' Defence sold to the US

Americanisation and privatisation of defence and security is alarming. US firm Raytheon condemned in Norway and Belgium for its relationship with cluster bombs is being boosted by Brown here. This consortium with a 1.3 billion dollar contract has the usual dodgy suspects involved ...yes ...Serco and Qinetiq...a requirement seems to be messing up big time previous government work .... if you were worried about ID cards ..be evan more worried about this even bigger brother!!!!

Raytheon wins $1.3 billion UK contract
International Herald Tribune, France - 14 Nov 2007

Extending its homeland security business overseas, Waltham defense giant Raytheon Co. today signed a deal worth $1.34 billion over the next 10 years to help the United Kingdom control its borders.
Under the agreement, signed with the British Home Office, Raytheon will lead a six-company consortium called "Trusted Borders" that will collect and analyze data on people entering the nation by air, sea, and rail. The effort is part of the United Kingdom's e-Borders project undertaken in advance of the London Olympics in 2012.

The deal is important in two ways to Raytheon, which has a larger share of foreign sales than any other large Pentagon contractor. The operation will run out of the London suburb of Uxbridge, near Heathrow International Airport, and will deploy techniques and technologies Raytheon could market to other countries. And it will raise the company's profile in the fast-growing field of homeland security -- called "national security" in the United Kingdom -- a key focus for Raytheon.

"We see this as a capability we're interested in forwarding to new countries interested in border control," said Mike Keebaugh, president of Raytheon's Intelligence and Information Systems unit in Garland, Tex., outside Dallas, which is leading the effort. "Those countries could be in the European Union or they could be in Asia."

Raytheon walks away with $1.35B UK dealBusinessWeek - 14 Nov 2007By DONNA BORAK Raytheon Co. on Wednesday said it won a $1.35 billion contract from the British government to develop a computerized system that will track ...

Brits beef up anti-terror efforts with help from Raytheon Bizjournals.com, NC - 14 Nov 2007Raytheon Co., which has a division in Tucson, won a $1.3 billion contract from the British government for new border security systems. ...

Raytheon Wins 650 Million-Pound UK Border Contract (Update1)Bloomberg - 14 Nov 2007By Robert Hutton Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Gordon Brown outlined plans to step up security in the UK and combat terrorism, awarding Raytheon Co. ...
The U.S. defense contractor beat British phone company BT Group Plc for the contract to provide electronic controls for immigration officers at ports and airports. The E-Borders program aims to help police and security services keep track of people entering and leaving the country. The Raytheon contract is worth 650 million pounds over 10 years, the Home Office said.
Home Office Minister Liam Byrne announced the winner as his department set out recommendations from two reports into borders and security in the wake of failed car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow in June. The program will go ``hand-in-hand'' with the creation of a new single Border Agency to control immigration, customs and security.
``The new agency will enable us to transfer intelligence from U.K. operations overseas to those making visa decisions, and to check biometrics taken from visa applicants against criminal and counter-terrorism records,'' Brown said in a statement to Parliament.
Among other measures, the largest global technology and Internet companies will be asked to help stop terrorist propaganda from being districted online, Brown said.
To guard against terrorist attacks, barriers and special glass will be installed at railway stations, airports and other crowded places, Brown said. The 250 busiest railway stations in the U.K., many of them in London, will be the first to see security stepped up.
Baggage Restrictions Eased
At the most ``sensitive'' locations, such as large rail stations, there will be additional screening of baggage and passenger searches, Brown said. He said the U.K.'s one-bag limit on airline hand baggage would be ``progressively lifted'' as airports improved security.
Brown earlier this year commissioned Alan West, a junior government minister and former Navy admiral, to report on how high-profile targets can be better protected from attacks. West's full report is secret. Among the conclusions Brown released is a move to design traffic flow and barriers to stop people driving up to targets.
On June 30, a burning car was driven into a terminal building at Glasgow airport. It didn't explode, and the only person to die was one of the drivers.

Border Checks
Another report today from Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell made suggestions about how to improve checks on people entering and leaving the U.K. O'Donnell, the most senior U.K. civil servant, examined how the Borders and Immigration Agency could be combined into an office that also manages visas and customs inspections.

The Treasury currently manages customs, while visas are granted by another wing of the Home Office and by embassy staff abroad.
The E-Borders system will be part of that effort, giving agencies access to passenger lists and enabling staff to check identity documents. It is an attempt to answer Conservative criticism that the ruling Labour Party has lost control over immigration. The government said this month that 300,000 more foreign nationals are working in the U.K. than it first estimated.
Last year, the government admitted it released more than 1,000 foreign prisoners who should have been considered for deportation. The revelation among other led then-Prime Minister Tony Blair to fire Charles Clarke as Home Secretary. When John Reid took over the job, he said the department was ``not fit for purpose.''
Illegal Immigrants
His successor, Jacqui Smith, yesterday made a statement to lawmakers explaining why illegal immigrants had been allowed to work in the security industry, some protecting government offices. Brown said today he was still in favor of allowing police to hold terror suspects for more than 28 days. Civil liberties groups and opposition parties oppose any extension.
Raytheon's partners on the E-borders project include Accenture, Detica Group Plc, Serco Group Plc, QinetiQ Plc, Groupe Steria SCA and Cap Gemini SA. Subcontractors in BT's bid included Lockheed Martin Corp., LogicaCMG Plc, Hewlett-Packard Co., Arinc Inc. and Anite Plc.
BT is ``disappointed' it had not been chosen for the contract, the company said in a statement released today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net