It's just the godawful futility and em******ment factor that gets people's backs up.
Passengers have their tweezers confiscated and are sold large, glass bottles of duty free on the aircraft.
We take away their metal cutlery, yet a biro will do as much damage.
Cabin crew have their ice tongs and keys taken from them at security, and get them returned once they are on the aircraft.
Pilots get get their compasses taken from them, yet are allowed past security and onto the flightdeck of that aircraft. Where, I might add, resides a large crash-axe or two. Oh, and the controls.
And now we have a criminal background check which will only serve to relieve a couple of people of their jobs because of an incident in their (perhaps long ago) past, and does not affect the not inconsiderable number of non-national aircrew working in this country. I mean, shagging your sister makes you a national security risk ?! (At this point I mumble some disclaimer).
As for IDs... in the UK they are all swiped into a magnetic card reader. The reader compares the details stored on the strip with the entry in the security computer. I suppose it is feasible that someone could get hold of a valid ID, copy it, and put their own photo on it. If they swipe Blogg's ID and copy it, they will then have to dispose of Bloggs and turn up for his/her flight. They then run the risk of being identified by the rest of the crew as bogus.
Assuming they get through all of this, removing the guy's ETOPS compass kit isn't going to help much really.....neither is that background criminal check.