Reid tight-lipped on cost of biometric visas

John Reid today insisted the government "has the resources" to fund a system of biometric visas to curb illegal immigration, but refused to admit how much the plans would actually cost.

Briefing reporters about his new immigration proposals, he revealed that the immigration enforcement budget would be doubled to £280m a year by 2010, and that biometric visas would initially focus on "high risk groups".

The plans, to be implemented in stages, would be expanded to cover non-EU countries by 2014.

Without citing concrete figures for the cost of biometric tracking systems, Reid emphasised that "capital and output" would be increased.

Lin Homer, the director general of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, said the Home Office would "increase the level and effectiveness of resources" used in enforcing border controls.

Mr Reid said biometric identification systems were a crucial tool in reining in the numbers of illegal immigrants to the UK.

Admitting that state of the art tracking systems alone "don't solve every problem", the home secretary outlined plans for embassies to take biometric details when visas are issued.

He also said the government planned to "get tougher with airlines" who fly people into the UK from immigration hotspots.

He said he held the last Conservative government responsible for "getting rid" of systems for tracking the numbers of people entering and leaving the country but admitted that the proposals would be difficult to implement flawlessly.

He said: "The last thing we're doing is promising perfection in a world where we know there are such difficulties and challenges."

Ms Homer said the responsibility for improving standards in border control was "shared" and that British authorities would be "working with other countries whose systems and controls are not as advanced as ours".

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