Security at UK borders compromised by low morale and staff under pressure Louise Bladen, director of the National Audit Office (NAO), said they found staff shortages at every site they visited and a culture of fear with officials under strain to meet waiting times targets at passport control - as breaches had to be referred to the Home Secretary. A report by the NAO into procedures at Britain's borders found computer systems used to stop criminals at breaking point and a lack of staff needed to carry out all the required checks on drugs, weapons and illegal immigrants, leaving the country's borders in chaos. At the sites we visited there was a very low morale, in particular because of these requirements of managing queues. Since 2012 any breaches have been reported to the Home Secretary on a daily, and now weekly, basis. Ms Bladen said the Border Force, which currently has a budget of £604 million, was currently recruiting more staff as well as working out how many staff and funds it would need in the future. She added: "What the report found was there were a number of things they could do - improving technology at the border and a better use of intelligence. The Border Force is recruiting more staff but we also felt the department needed to fund the Border Force properly to do all the duties it's required to do. The report found the Home Office's Warnings Index (WI), a system used to establish whether passengers are known to be dangerous, was out of date and at risk of collapse. It said the force was "consistently below target" for seizures of counterfeit goods and tobacco, and in the number of offensive weapons seized. The report also found employees face a "culture of fear" because they are wary of repercussions if they highlight the consequences of directing resources away from some of their duties.