Britain’s multi-million pound electronic borders project breaches European data protection laws and the free movement of EU citizens, MPs were warned today.

The £750 million scheme will also lead to longer queues for passengers travelling by rail and ferry to the continent.

Under e-borders, airline, ferry and rail operators must collect eight pieces of travel information including a passenger's full name, date of birth, nationality, passport number, passport-issuing country and passport expiry date. The information will be collected electronically from everyone entering and leaving the UK.

The results will then be passed to the UK and checked against security watchlists giving immigration officials early alerts.

But today Eurostar told the Commons Home Affairs select committee that under French law it was unlawful for anyone other than law enforcement agencies to collect the information. As a result it would not able to collect the details required for passengers travelling into the UK.

Marc Noaro, customer services director of Eurostar, said: ”It is not lawful for somebody who is not a law enforcement officer in France and Belgium to demand that information at check in.”

He said that his firm remained extremely concerned that the proposed system will be operationally, legally and commercially difficult for Eurostar to implement.

Mr Noaro also said that if Eurostar collected the travel information, French law forbade it being sent to another EU state.

The committee was also told of other concerns that e-border programme breaks EU law.

Tim Reardon of the Chamber of Shipping, which represents ferry operators, said if someone refused to provide the information and then was stopped from travelling, it could breach EU law allowing the free movement of people.

He criticised the UK Border Agency for failing to respond to letters demanding clarification of EU law which were sent eight months ago.

Mr Reardon also warned that having to take the eight pieces of information on everyone boarding a ferry would lead to congestion and delays at ports. He said the scheme had been designed for the aviation industry with little thought given to ferries and rail travel.

At present ferry operators reserve a space on the vehicle deck and issue a ticket for the car and the number of passengers travelling but not the details of every passenger in the vehicle.

Trials two years ago showed the scanning a set of four passports for a car added 20 seconds to the time at check in.

“This represents an extension to the existing transaction time of between 50 and 80 per cent and could not be accommodated at busy periods without causing long queues and congestion in the terminal,” the Chamber of Shipping said in written evidence to the committee.

“There is no prospect of e-Borders going live in relation to ferry traffic, as the UK Borders Agency contends it will, by the end of next year.”

Mr Reardon added: “No practicable method of capturing ferry passengers’ passport data has yet been identified - and in the absence of a defined process, no work has been done to develop a system to support it.

“Progress is effectively now suspended pending resolution of the legal questions which will determine what is or is not permitted."

The Port of Dover warned of even bigger problems with coaches and lorries. “A queue of 100 passengers at an airport is not a big problem and individuals can step forward easily - a queue of 100 passengers at a ferry port (if they are in trucks) is a mile long and takes some moving,” the Port said.

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