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London - Britain's equality watchdog warned on Sunday that plans to introduce body scanners at airports after the failed Christmas Day bombing of a US plane could breach human rights.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has written to the government expressing concerns about the proposed installation of the scanners, saying they may violate the right to privacy outlined in the Human Rights Act.
"The right to life is the ultimate human right and we support the government reviewing security in the light of recent alleged terrorist activity," said John Wadham, group director legal at the commission.
"However, the government needs to ensure that measures to protect this right also take into account the need to be proportionate in its counter-terrorism proposals and ensure that they are justified by evidence and effectiveness."
In the letter to Home Secretary Alan Johnson, the commission asked the government to give a detailed justification of bringing in the new security measure.
The scanners are capable of peering through clothes to create three-dimensional images of passengers and reveal any concealed weapons or explosives, but privacy advocates argue the image produced is too intimate.
Britain plans to install the scanners at London's Heathrow airport by the end of the month after Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was charged with trying to down a US-bound passenger jet from Amsterdam.
The scanners will be rolled out to other airports over time.
Abdulmutallab, accused of trying to blow up the jet with explosive sewn into his underwear, pleaded not guilty to the foiled attack on the Northwest Airlines flight in a Detroit court on January 9.
The EHRC said the plans were likely to have a negative impact on privacy and asked for clarification on what safeguards would be provided.
In particular, the commission expressed concerns for certain groups such as disabled people, the elderly and children.
The EHRC further said it had "serious concerns" over the methods that would be used to pick out travellers to be scanned.
The Netherlands has also decided to install the scanners, but other countries such as Spain have sounded less enthusiastic.
- AFP
