The Government intends to store all Britons’ international travel details on a new database.

Every passenger in and out of the UK will have their details held on computer for up to 10 years, including their name, address, telephone number, credit card details, seat reservation and travel itinerary.

The UK Border Agency already counts people who enter or leave the country by “high risk” routes, including via Heathrow and Gatwick airports.  Under the “e-borders” programme it is planned that all 250m annual movements will be counted by 2014.

From The Times:

Some immigration officials with knowledge of the plans admit there is likely to be public concern.

“A lot of this stuff will have a legitimate use in the fight against crime and terrorism, but it’s what else it could be used for that presents a problem,” said one.  “It will be able to detect whether parents are taking their children abroad during school holidays. It could be useful to the tax authorities because it will tell them how long non-UK domiciled people are spending in the UK.”

The database is also expected to monitor people’s travel companions.

A spokesman for the NO2ID campaign group said, “When your travel plans, who you are travelling with, where you are going to and when are being recorded you have to ask yourself just how free is this country?” [Source: Press Association]

The location of the database? It’s a secret: for a government so keen to know our exact whereabouts, they are very coy about revealing theirs.

Although believed to be in Wythenshawe, Manchester, staff have been told to refer to it only as “a new operations centre in the northwest.”