E-gates delay query

[latenightsnacks]

Hi,

I used an e-gate at Heathrow the other day, and was kept in the booth for a really long-time, at least 45 seconds but possibly over a minute.

During that time, the white-light kept dimming and brightening, as if to suggest it was struggling to identify me. After the delay, the gates opened as normal and I walked-through. I was wearing glasses and a thick scarf, so guessed that the delay was just the machine trying to match-me, and wouldn't have thought any more of it.

However, when I walked past the border official, I turned round to see if my friends were still queuing, when I saw on the screen of the border official that my photo had an orange question mark next to it. No one else's seemed to have this, and so I've subsequently been concerned that there may have been another reason for the delay.

I'm a UK citizen since birth, and work abroad often but for no more than a week at a time, so I can't think that there'd be any problem with my status?

Does anyone know what the orange question mark means? Should I be concerned, or am I just over-thinking what might just have been a delay due to my glasses and scarf? I should have asked the official at the time, but of course you always think of these things too late!

Help very gratefully received!

[MPH80]

The reason the official is there is to manually override if it's failing to identify you.

Chances are the orange question mark was 'can't match person to photo'.

M.