Daily Mirror

Tighten up controls at EU borders

By Bob Roberts, Deputy Political Editor
19/09/2007

Tighter border controls are needed across Europe to stop a repeat of the McCann tragedy, a family friend said yesterday.

Justine McGuinness said stronger exit checks at ports and airports could have helped catch whoever snatched Madeleine.

Controls have been relaxed across most of the EU as part of Europe's bid to break down borders and encourage free movement. But Ms McGuinness said a rethink was needed to improve child protection.

Reports have claimed Madeleine was taken across the Portuguese border into Spain within hours of disappearing.

Other suggestions are that she could have been taken to Morocco.

Ms McGuinness said: "If we want to protect our youngsters we have to make sure that children cannot be moved out of Europe, as well as in.

"That's why I feel very strongly that we must have exit checks at all ports. While we know it's a very good thing to have free movement and we would protect that right very strongly - there are problems for child protection.

"I think you need border controls when people come into Europe and when people go out. We have to know when people leave our boundaries and we've got to know whether they are leaving with children."

Ms McGuinness was speaking at the Liberal Democrat conference.

She told the Mirror: "It would have helped. There is very little co-ordination between European police forces.

"In Britain most of the work is left to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre but that is very poorly resourced."

Until recently Ms McGuinness, acted as a spokeswoman for Kate and Gerry McCann.

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