NEW border controls that require Islanders to carry a passport to get into the UK have been heavily criticised by a House of Lords select committee.
The UK Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill lets UK customs put up temporary border controls with Jersey without warning, and was passed into law in January.
Jersey and the other Crown Dependencies have complained about the change and a House of Lords select committee has backed their view. The committee said that there had been no open and effective consultation on the new law, that the powers contained in the legislation went too far and that they did not take account of Islanders’ rights to free movement.
In May 2007, the Crown Dependencies – Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man – signed a deal with the UK in which the Labour government said that there would be dialogue between the governments on issues that would affect their constitutional relationships. But the report by the select committee found that the communication between the UK and the Crown Dependencies fell short of what was required.
