British government issues travel alert to airlines around the world saying NSA whistleblower likely to be refused entry to UK
The British government is reported to have warned airlines around the world not to allow the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden to fly to the UK.
A travel alert, dated Monday 10 June on a Home Office letterhead, said carriers should not allow Snowden to board because "the individual is highly likely to be refused entry to the UK".
The Associated Press news agency saw a photograph of the document taken on Friday at a Thai airport. A British diplomat confirmed to AP that the document was genuine and was sent to airlines around the world. A Thai airline official also confirmed the alert had been issued.
The official said such alerts were issued to carriers that flew into the UK, adding that any carrier bringing in Snowden would be liable to a £2,000 fine. He said it was likely the Home Office had deemed Snowden's presence in the UK to be detrimental to the "public good".
The Home Office refused to confirm or deny the report, saying only: "We do not comment on individual cases."
Snowden, 29, has revealed himself as the source of top-secret documents about American NSA surveillance programmes that were reported earlier by the Guardian and Washington Post. He is believed to be in Hong Kong. The US citizen has not been charged with any crime and no warrants have been issued for his arrest.
The alert was issued by the Risk and Liaison Overseas Network, part of the UK Border Agency, which has staff in several countries identified as major transit points for inadequately documented passengers.
The document, titled "RALON Carrier Alert 15/13", had a photograph of Snowden and gave his date of birth and passport number. It said: "If this individual attempts to travel the UK: Carriers should deny boarding." Airlines allowing him to travel would "be liable to costs relating to the individual's detention and removal", it said.
According to the diplomat, carrier alerts are issued when the UK government wants to deny entry to people who don't normally need visas to enter the country, or whose visas were issued before something happened.
He said the alerts were sometimes issued to deny convicted sex offenders entry to the UK.
A Bangkok Airways officer said the airline was notified on Thursday about the alert by the Airports of Thailand, which operates national airports throughout the country. She said the notice was not intended to be seen by the public.
British Airways was unable to comment on the alert. A member of staff referred the Guardian to the Home Office, adding: "We comply with government requirements."
It was not clear if governments in other countries had issued similar documents.
Britain previously found itself embroiled in a secret documents leak scandal when the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was granted political asylum last year at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He is facing extradition to Sweden where he is wanted on accusations of sex crimes, and has expressed fears that if returned to Sweden he could also face extradition to the US over the leaking of secret US logs on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.