Letter from Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP, Secretary
of State, Home Office, to the Chairman of the Committee
I am advised that you and the Home Affairs Select
Committee are disappointed with the decision of the Home Office
to decline to give evidence to you on the 26 January following
my statement to the House on 5 January on Aviation and Border
Security.
As you are aware the content of my statement
to the House outlined the response to the incident of 25 December
2009 from across government. This response was being led jointly
by the Home Office and the Department for Transport. The Secretary
of State for Transport repeated the statement in the House of
Lords later that afternoon.
When the Home Office was invited to attend the
Committee on 26 January, we were advised that this was to be a
joint session, as Lord Adonis had also been invited to attend
the session. We were also advised that the focus of the session
was to be the introduction of body scanners and the use of profiling
together with wider aspects of aviation security.
The Department of Transport is the lead department
for all transport security issues and they are therefore the most
appropriate department to provide you with the information you
require.
I understand that the Department for Transport are
discussing with the Committee clerk the best way to facilitate
your request.
I hope that you will understand our decision
to decline this invitation.
This is based purely on the fact that others
invited to provide evidence are better placed to supply the most
timely and accurate information on the areas that you wish to
cover.
18 January 2010
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