New border control agency launches

The new Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) has gone live today promising "greater public accountability".

Although the BIA will remain part of the Home Office, the revamped agency is said to have "greater operational freedom to deliver" its services.

Changes to the system include a visible presence of uniformed immigration officers at all ports as well as the introduction of an individual case-owner managing asylum cases from start to finish.

The BIA will also now have a regional focus with a new director announced for each of the six geographical areas of the UK.

Speaking about the changes, chief executive Lin Homer said the regional focus will mean the new agency is "more responsive to the communities it serves".

"It will engage with a whole range of partners from police, local councils and agencies to deliver the sort of service that the public expects," she added.

"It will be more open and accountable with clear, published targets so the public can see whether it is delivering - putting us in a stronger position to deliver the transformation we have promised."

Home Office minister Liam Byrne stressed the new freedoms given to the BIA will help move the immigration service forward.

"We want to give the BIA freedom not only to work globally delivering border security but act locally tackling local immigration policing priorities," he said.

The changes come after a string of Home Office blunders earlier this year including the failure to record 27,500 crimes committed by Britons abroad.