Two years after investigators revealed they were able to take weapons and fake bombs past screeners in US airports, follow-up tests show that security has not improved.
In a report released this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that the results of tests conducted between November and February at hundreds of checkpoints were just as bad as before, indicating an urgent need to update the technology.
The report also accused the Transport Security Agency (TSA) of wasting money on lavish offices equipped with expensive works of art, flowers and gyms, and not taking enough steps to prevent its staff from stealing items from passengers' bags during inspections.
Only two weeks ago, Telegraph Travel reported that David Stone, the head of the TSA, had resigned amid a series of damaging reports. These suggested that, despite £7 billion having been spent on airport security since September 11, 2001, serious weaknesses remained.
Reports also revealed that lax background checks on employees present security loopholes that al-Qa'eda can exploit: more than 5,800 unauthorised airport workers have been arrested since the September 11 attacks.
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