Heathrow passengers cheer as Border Force reopens after widespread outage at UK airports

Oliver Browning

8 May 2024 at 10:30 am

Passengers queuing at Heathrow clapped as Border Force reopened after a widespread outage left travellers waiting hours to pass through passport control on Tuesday night (7 May).

Other airports including Gatwick, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle and Manchester were impacted by the e-gate failure, with some complaining of “torturous” conditions.

Border officials were left to manually process travellers instead, with other images and footage shared on social media showing long queues forming at passport control at several airports.

A Home Office spokesperson confirmed the issue was resolved shortly after midnight.

People
The Moment I Learned Someone Made Deepfake Porn of Me — and How I’m Fighting Back
"Justice wouldn’t be possible for me unless I changed the entire system," Breeze Liu says
CNN
They’ve been stuck for 7 weeks on the ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge. This is what life is like for the Dali crew
It could be weeks or even months before crew members can leave, due to complications beyond their control. Here’s why they’re still confined – and how they’re coping
BBC
‘My heart still hurts’: The personal sacrifice of revealing a K-pop scandal
Two journalists reveal how they bore the brunt of fans' anger after exposing K-pop's dark underbelly.
HuffPost
Cassie's Husband Speaks Out In Wake Of New Video Showing Diddy Assaulting Her
The footage, obtained by CNN, shows the singer-songwriter being beaten, kicked and dragged down a hallway by Sean "Diddy" Combs, in 2016.
CNN
IDF recovers hostage’s body from Gaza one day after retrieving three others
The Israeli military announced Saturday that it had recovered the body of a hostage from the Gaza Strip, one day after saying it had retrieved the remains of three others in the besieged territory.
The Telegraph
Boy, 14, dies and another critical after ‘playing on rope swing’ by River Tyne
A 14-year-old boy has died and a 13-year-old was left in a critical condition after they got into difficulties in the River Tyne while playing on a rope swing by the water.
The Telegraph
Hamas propaganda
It has been clear for many months that the civilian casualty statistics issued by Hamas-controlled organisations in Gaza are highly suspect. In fact, according to one study by data analysts in the US, if you relied on the terrorists’ figures you would have to believe that, on October 29 last year, 26 men came back to life. The study suggested that the number of women and children killed was being exaggerated.
INSIDER
Tattoo artist Shani Louk became a symbol of the music festival massacre by Hamas. The IDF has finally recovered her body.
The IDF recovered the bodies of three Israeli hostages taken to Gaza, including 22-year-old tattoo artist Shani Louk.
INSIDER
Cassie Ventura's husband speaks out after footage appeared to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs physically assaulting her in 2016
Alex Fine called out abusers in an Instagram post on Friday after footage appeared to show Sean "Diddy" Combs physically assaulting Cassie Ventura.
The Guardian
Israeli abuse of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti ‘amounts to torture’
With thousands now held without charge, lawyers say Israel is signalling that no detainee is safe
Storyful
Suspect Pulls Gun While Stealing 12-Packs of Beer
Fort Worth Police Department released dramatic CCTV footage which showed the moment one of two suspects who stole 12-packs of beer from a gas station in the early hours of May 14 pulled a gun on a worker.“[The suspects] each selected two 12-packs of beer and ran toward the front door without paying,” police said.“One of the suspects pulled a handgun with an extended magazine and pointed it at the victim. The suspects left the store in an older model dark colored Toyota Corolla with a Michael Jordan sticker on the back window.”The suspects were described as: suspect one: Hispanic male wearing gray shorts, a black sweatshirt, and a black ball cap, and suspect two: Hispanic male wearing tan shorts, a black hoodie, black sandals, and a black ball cap.This footage shows the incident. Credit: Fort Worth Police Department via Storyful
BBC
Paul Pelosi attacker sentenced to 30 years in prison
Nancy Pelosi has not discussed the attack with her husband, whose skull was fractured with a hammer.
Associated Press
As ethnic armed group claims to have captured a town in western Myanmar, Muslim Rohingyas flee again
A powerful ethnic armed group fighting Myanmar’s military government in the country’s western state of Rakhine claimed Saturday to have seized a town near the border with Bangladesh, marking the latest in a series of victories for foes of the country’s military government. Members of the state’s Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority, targets of deadly army-directed violence in 2017, appear to have been the main victims of fighting in the town of Buthidaung, where the Arakan Army claims to have chased out forces of the military government. Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the Arakan Army, told The Associated Press by text message from an undisclosed location that his group had seized Buthidaung after capturing all the military’s outposts there.
Associated Press
A man in Malaysia who killed 2 police officers acted on his own, a minister says
The man who attacked a Malaysian police station and killed two officers was a recluse and is believed to have acted on his own despite suspected links to the Jemaah Islamiyah extremist group, the country's home minister said Saturday. The man stormed the police station in southern Johor state near Singapore in the early hours of Friday with a machete. Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution called it a “lone wolf attack” based on an initial investigation and said there was no threat to the wider public.
CBC
How a thriving Chinese community was built in N.L. despite racism and hardships
Members of the N.L. Chinese community speaking on The Signal. Pictured from left to right: Zihan Jin, a new Memorial University graduate; Jerry Li, owner of Magic Wok eatery in St. John's; Gordon Jin, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Head Tax Redress Organization; Shirley Hong, a retired entrepreneur; and Francis Tam, president of the Chinese Association of Newfoundland and Labrador. (John Pike CBC )After an hour of talking on the radio with a multi-generational group from Newfoundland
Associated Press
Sentencing trial set to begin for Florida man who executed 5 women at a bank in 2019
Zephen Xaver walked into a central Florida bank in 2019, fatally shot five women and then called police to tell them what he did. Xaver pleaded guilty last year to five counts of first-degree murder for the Jan. 23, 2019, massacre at the SunTrust Bank in Sebring, about 84 miles (135 kilometers) southeast of Tampa. Michael Cook said he hopes his wife's killer gets the death penalty and described being very frustrated by the years of delays.
Sky video
Father of murdered Israeli hostage Shani Louk 'relieved' as her body returns home
As a little girl Shani Louk would walk into the pine forests on the hills behind her home and pick flowers and look for animals.
The Guardian
Expert says employers can be found liable for sexual assault outside of work hours as PwC fights case
Accountancy firm argues it is not liable since it had taken ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent such behaviour
The Telegraph
Police losing confidence to do the job after officer convicted of assault in fare-evasion row
Metropolitan Police officers have warned they are losing the confidence to do their jobs after a colleague was convicted of assault for arresting a woman during a fare evasion row.
The Telegraph
Sports presenter arrested on suspicion of raping a child
An established sports broadcaster has been arrested on suspicion of raping a child after a 4am raid on his home.

Latest stories