U.K. removes lead contractor Raytheon from e-Borders program

Published 22 July 2010

The U.K. hits out at Raytheon, removing the company from the £1.2 billion e-Borders program; the immigration minister Damian Green said earlier today that the program was running at least twelve months late and that Raytheon had been in breach of contract since July last year; Home Office says it has “no confidence” in the company; Raytheon was the lead contractor of the Trusted Borders consortium, which won a £650 million deal in 2007 to build the e-Borders system; other members of the consortium, including Serco, Detica, Accenture, and Qinetiq will keep their contracts; Raytheon was responsible for systems integration, travel services, and overall project management

Raytheon no longer will be involved in the e-Borders, the tracking system detailing all travel into and out of the U.K. // Source: bbc.co.uk

The U.K. Home Office has removed lead contractor Raytheon from the £1.2 billion e-Borders program, saying it has “no confidence” in the firm, Reuters reports.

The immigration minister Damian Green said earlier today that the program was running at least twelve months late and that Raytheon had been in breach of contract since July last year.

Raytheon was the lead contractor of the Trusted Borders consortium which won a £650 million deal to build the e-Borders system in 2007. A further £92 million was added to the contract in 2008.

The government is determined to get value for money from its major contracts and requires the highest standard of performance from its suppliers,” said Green. “We will now be seeking alternative providers to continue to deliver this project as a matter of urgency.”

Chris Williams writes that the other members of Trusted Borders, including Serco, Detica, Accenture, and Qinetiq will keep their contracts. Raytheon was responsible for systems integration, travel services, and overall project management.

The government said it remains in favor of the aims of e-Borders, which was conceived under then-Home Secretary David Blunkett following a scandal over immigration figures. It will collect and centrally store details of every journey into and out of the United Kingdom by 2014, with passport details checked against an array of domestic and international watch lists.

Today’s announcement casts statements about e-Borders by the last government in a new light.

In January, Green’s Labour predecessor Phil Woolas told the Commons that e-Borders was on target track 95 per cent of journeys by the end of this year, as required by the contract schedule. Just before Parliament was dissolved in April, however, MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee said they did not believe the government’s assurances.

A today Home Office spokesman said Woolas’ claims were a matter for the previous government.