London, July 22: British airports are at risk of terrorist attack from a “threat within,” a report by a former bureaucrat will warn today.

The alert is raised in a security review by former civil servant Stephen Boys Smith.

He demands a crackdown on thousands of people working in shops, cafes and baggage depots.

An insider said: “It is possible they can have a criminal past in another country that is not picked up.”

Experts claim that hundreds of foreign workers with a criminal past may have landed airside jobs.

British staff and pilots undergo rigorous checks, but offences committed overseas often go unchecked, The Sun reported.

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly will order aviation chiefs to beef up checks following a security review.

She will demand all loopholes are closed to ensure terrorists cannot board passenger jets. (ANI)