Spain not to implement full body scanners at airports

Spain has dismissed the idea of using whole body scanners at Spanish airports, until there is an EU-wide agreement on the subject.

The incident on Christmas day at Detroit airport has brought airline security back into the headlines, and in the U.K. it is reported that the government has approved use of these new full body scanners.

However, Spain’s development Minister, José Blanco, said that the Spanish Government would not be taking additional measures in airport security until the EU was in agreement, but it would adhere to the request made by the USA to step up security on flights heading there.

The Minister said that the cabinet was in the process of deciding how to make the freedom and privacy of passengers compatible with the required increase in security, and he called for further debate on the use of such body scanners.

When pressed for comment regarding the alleged terrorist threat from Basque terrorist group - ETA, he said he was not aware of ‘any singular threat’, but that ETA had always inflicted as much damage as possible. ‘We can never lower our guard’, he said.