HIGHLY trained security specialists are being deployed by a cross-Channel ferry operator for the first time this weekend amid fears the vessels are an easy target for terrorists.
Britanny Ferries will introduce the guards, along with other enhanced security measures including baggage searches.
Government ministers previously highlighted passenger ferries as a weak link in Britain’s defence against terrorists, amid fears they could hijack a ferry and commit slaughter before security forces could reach it.
Around 20 million journeys are made on cross-Channel, North Sea and Irish Sea ferries every year, with the majority of those journeys being to and from France.
A Britanny Ferries spokesman said: “They will be well-trained staff who are in a position to take action if something untoward occurs.”
Last night a Home Office spokesman said:. “We keep security measures in the maritime sector under continual review and regularly assess all options to make sure we have measures in place which are proportionate to the threat.”
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