THE 'diabolical' security lapse at Bournemouth Airport is to be referred to Special Branch.

Dorset's Police and Crime Commissioner said he would be speaking with both Dorset Police Chief Constable James Vaughan and Special Branch, which deals with counter-terrorism, after seeing Friday's Daily Echo investigation.

Martyn Underhill said the lapse which saw air passengers twice pass through security and onto flights without valid tickets was a potential risk to national security.

He told the Echo: "This is really worrying, we are talking national security here and as Police and Crime Commissioner I will be writing to the Rigby Group, that own the airport, and I will be speaking to the Chief Constable and Special Branch to find out what lessons we can learn and how we can reassure people in Dorset that actually we are doing our job properly and that people coming in and out of this country are monitored."

Mr Underhill has regularly raised concerns about port security and the possibility of undocumented migrants entering the country by sea.

He said the airport incidents had shown his fears in a new light.

"This is absolutely shocking to me because people will know I have been very vocal about port security in Weymouth, Poole and across our south coast," he said.

"Every time I criticise the Government’s approach to national security at ports, I’m told 85/90 per cent of people go through the national airports, the regional airports, we are spot on there and we have to take the risk with the smaller ports.

"Well Bournemouth is an international airport, people are flying all over the world from that airport, and this is a diabolical failure in security, full stop.

"You can’t have two instances like this without thinking ‘we’re getting this wrong’.

"And if the Government are getting their airports wrong then what’s happening at the sea ports?"

The news comes 17 years after two hijacked planes were flown into the Twin Towers in New York, one into the Pentagon and a fourth crashed on September 11, 2001.

That incident which led to a huge crackdown on airport security worldwide.

A Bournemouth Airport spokesperson said previously: “This is extremely serious and we are investigating as a matter of urgency.

“We are undertaking an inquiry, including liaising with Ryanair, Swissport and any other relevant companies, in order to prevent anything similar happening again."

Ryanair gate agent Swissport said it was also investigating the lapse.

Responsibility for airport security is shared between airport owners/operators, the carriers and their handling agents.