Yorkshire MEP sets out airline data anti-terror plan

Timothy Kirkhope will put forward fresh proposals on the use of passenger name records (PNR), which include new safeguards on how the information is used and stored, on Thursday.

EU member states and the Commission have backed the idea but it has previously been narrowly blocked by MEPs worried about civil liberties and data protection.

Concerns about fighters returning from Syria to their home countries in Europe has added fresh impetus to efforts to put a proper system in place and MEPs recently voted for the issue to be reconsidered.

Mr Kirkhope said: “My aim in the coming few months is to work with pragmatic political forces who want to find an agreement that carefully balances the need for security and the need to ensure the limited data collected is handled correctly.

“Without a European PNR system, we will begin to see national governments going it alone.

“The result would be a patchwork of PNR systems with holes in the net, which criminals will exploit, and lower standards of data protection. We will work with haste, but we also plan to get this right so that we have a well-balanced system that protects liberties and lives.”