“The people that they’re not searching, who they are supposed to be searching, could genuinely be a threat to the flight.”

A worrying exchange between supervisors is recorded . One says: “You know what? F*** Continental. I’m f***ing sick of Continental.”

Another replies: “And me.” The first one responds: “No one gives a f*** about anything in this airport apart from f***ing Continental. I hope the flight f***ing blows up.” The other replies: “And me.”

ICTS has a contract to supply 17 staff to protect the daily Air India flights to Toronto and Delhi from Birmingham Airport. 

In 1985, a terrorist bomb brought down an Air India flight from Canada to London and 329 passengers died. The airline remains a terror target.

This investigation shows that  ICTS rarely supplies anywhere near 17 staff: the investigators record an incident when only one employee works alone on the flight for two hours, while passengers check in.

Hidden cameras capture a supervisor reacting to the incident. He says: “There is no security, is there?”

Speaking to the lone security agent, Colin Cross says: “How are you going to manage?” Agent: “I don’t know. I was thinking of like putting my shorts on – check ‘em in, run through the back – make sure the bags are all right, run back out of there and do a little Ali shuffle in between.”

Air India told Tonight it conducted its own check in April, because ICTS’s work was not up to standard. The company’s performance was being monitored and the airline had put in its own security manager.

ICTS recently won a contract to guard the whole perimeter of the airport, but in April, before the findings of Tonight’s investigation were made known, it lost the contract for X-raying suspect bags at Birmingham Airport Terminal One.

Birmingham International Airport says: “Based on information provided by ITV prior to broadcast, we are confident there have been no breaches of the UK Department for Transport’s mandated security procedures.

“The allegations relate to second-ary screening processes which ICTS undertake, as a third-party contractor, for a limited number of airlines. 

“Subject to ITV providing evidence, the ongoing investigations have resulted in a number of ICTS staff being suspended. Subject to ITV providing evidence that their actions and comments were obtained in a fair and reasonable manner, the airport company will ensure this investigation is now swiftly concluded.

“Birmingham International Airport would like to stress that all passengers travelling from the Airport are screened by its own security staff to Department of Transport standards and no breaches have been identified in these procedures.”

ICTS would not comment.