Why?

[Josie]

Why did the Immigration Officer at UK Border Control last night ask me if I was travelling alone or with someone else?  I nearly said "it's none of your business" but luckily thought better of it.

[Flash]

And why do they always say 'if you're travelling together you can come forward together'  but then they check you individually ??

[Karen13]

Just because they can!!!!

[smokie]

A couple of visits ago we queued up at Manchester airport for a long long time waiting to show our passports to be admitted.
Shuffling around the zigzaggy barriers.
After we'd shown our passports and set off for our luggage (and, obviously a much needed ciggy) some prat from the office for National Statistics stopped us to ask some questions.
Would it be too complicated to think about things and ask us the questions whilst we were queueing up?

They could ask the folks behind us in the queue to not shuffle forwards for a minute if they are worried about discussing things in their hearing. An added benefit might be that if they got any sort of "iffy" response then they could tip the wink to the Customs/Immigration guy BEFORE we'd gone through.
Is "joined up thinking" too difficult for these guys, who ought to remember who it is that pays their wages.
I'd already crossed swords with this Government Department when we ran our businesses in the UK so I told him to get stuffed.
He was still insisting that we had no choice and HAD to talk to him as he scuttled away, odd that as he didn't look that intelligent.

[Josie]

If each person has their own passport and the queue splits just as you get to the front why would you say sorry I can't speak to you without my husband standing alongside me?

[cymmon]

Because they can stop you to justify their presence.

Just like at Manchester you can get to security with a perfectly clear sealable bag which will not meet "current" security requirements, which means you have to buy 2 more for £1 which actually are the exact same bags that you first tried to take through!

[Josie]

They don't charge for plastic bags at Gatwick I'm glad to say.  This was actually immigration, not security.  Maybe they just like processing families together as it saves time.