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ID required for inter-UK journeys

Ferry Online Travel News 18/11/2007

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Starting in 2008, passengers on ferries and flights between the UK mainland and Northern Ireland will be required to carry a passport with them during their journey. This is the first rule of its kind, making ID a mandatory part of travelling between two locations within the United Kingdom and could set a precedent for future travel between the British Isles as well as domestic flights.

The new regulations will provide police with detailed information about who is moving from where, and give them greater power to identify possible criminals travelling between Ulster and England.

Part of the new system will mean that when passengers purchase their tickets their personal information will be cross-checked with police records in an attempt to weed out the criminal element.

Some people on the Northern Irish side are not welcoming the news with open arms, not after Belfast has managed to achieve a degree of peace between the Catholic and Protestant sides of the city.

Jeffrey Donaldson, an MP with the Democratic Unionist Party says, 'It treats the people of Northern Ireland as second-class citizens and if it goes ahead it will be challenged in the courts. We are as concerned about our security as anyone else in the United Kingdom but these measures should be put in place on the land border with the Irish Republic.'

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