Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly has said today that some UK airports may be able to lift the ban on more than one item of hand luggage by January. She also hinted at a relaxation of the rules on laptop screening in order to speed up security.

In a speech to the Airport Operators Association today, Kelly said: “Simply lifting the one-bag rule at all UK airports now would not be sensible. Too many airports have still not got the necessary screening capacity in place to maintain appropriate security standards.”

She added: “Yet waiting until every airport is ready to adopt the new regime would penalise passengers using the rest of the network. I am not prepared to move at the pace of the slowest. Our approach is designed to make maximum use of extra capacity as it becomes available, so we can pass the benefits on to the passenger as quickly as possible.”

The Transport Secretary said that if airports submit suitable plans to its security arm Transec, they may be able to lift the ban on more than one bag from 7 January.