UK immigration staff charged with policing the nation’s borders believe that borders have become less secure as a result of government changes to immigration law, Home Office research has indicated.

A study of Home Office staff, published unannounced on its website last month, indicates that 71% of the 552 border staff questioned perceive borders to be less secure following the introduction of the points-based immigration system (PBS) in February 2008.

Overall, 53% of the 1,132 Home Office staff surveyed thought that borders were less secure following the PBS, which has been criticised by immigration lawyers.

The report, labelled ‘Research report 49’, indicated that, while 59% of staff thought PBS was ‘easy to understand’ and 56% said it was ‘open and transparent’, only 41% said it was ‘fair’ and just 34% agreed that it was ‘efficient’.

Philip Barth, head of immigration law at City firm Penningtons, said Border Force staff have historically had the freedom to exercise their discretion when deciding whether to admit passengers, ‘often relying on their instincts in deciding whether a passenger is telling the truth or concealing their real intentions’.

He added: ‘In contrast, the PBS has been designed to be objective and transparent – if a passenger scores the required points, they must be admitted, even if the visa officer’s trained instincts say "no".’