New Airport Scanners would not have stopped Christmas Day Bomb Attempt

I suppose that this isn't too surprising. The question is: how invasive are you willing to be? Are we going to pat down everyone's crotch? Or do full body searches? The problem is also that liquids that are completely harmless by themselves can cause real problems when combined.

The explosive device smuggled in the clothing of the Detroit bomb suspect would not have been detected by body-scanners set to be introduced in British airports, an expert on the technology warned last night.

The claim severely undermines Gordon Brown's focus on hi-tech scanners for airline passengers as part of his review into airport security after the attempted attack on Flight 253 on Christmas Day.

The Independent on Sunday has also heard authoritative claims that officials at the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Home Office have already tested the scanners and were not persuaded that they would work comprehensively against terrorist threats to aviation. . . .

And experts in the US said airport "pat-downs" – a method used in hundreds of airports worldwide – were ineffective and would not have stopped the suspect boarding the plane. . . .