Manchester Airport 'security breach' investigated

An investigation is under way into how a plane-load of passengers was apparently able to enter the UK without having passports checked.

Mobile phone footage shows passengers walking through Manchester Airport's seemingly unstaffed passport control.

The incident happened early on Saturday morning after the delayed arrival of a Ryanair flight from Madrid.

Manchester Airport and the Home Office said they were examining the details of the alleged security breach.

Flight FR3186 had been due to arrive at 23:35 BST on Friday, but did not do so until 02:05 BST on Saturday morning.

One of those on board, Clinton Laykin from Stoke-on-Trent, provided BBC News with footage shot on his mobile phone.

He estimated there had been 130 to 140 passengers on board.

An airport spokesman confirmed an investigation had been launched

In the footage, Mr Laykin says: "This is the UK border and there's nobody at Passport Control at Manchester Airport.

"A planeload of people have just arrived and come straight through and we are going to baggage reclaim.

"Nobody has checked our passports."

A spokesman for the airport told BBC North West Tonight: "It is the responsibility of an airline's handling agent to notify UK Border Force (UKBF) about arrivals from outside of the UK.

"By them doing this in advance of a flight's arrival, ensures the relevant UKBF staff [are] in place to handle the immigration process.

"As an airport we will work closely with our third party partners to investigate what occurred in this instance."

A Home Office spokesman said: "We are currently carrying out an investigation into this incident."

A Ryanair spokesman said: "There appears to have been a malfunction in the airport's system, which caused incorrect flight information to be published, and subsequently resulted in this issue at border control. We have asked Manchester Airport to look into this matter and ensure it does not recur."