Stowaway fines are not likely outside the ports
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E by Guy Sheppard
Drivers who turn in stowaways once they are outside the port area are unlikely to be fined, according to the Home Office.
Since the £2,000 penalty for each stowaway was introduced in April, there have only been three or four occasions when this has happened. The civil penalty does extend to lorries outside the port area but in practice it is not implemented," says a Home Office spokesman.
In a lot of cases, the police deal with the matter. In that situation drivers can wash their hands of the affair—as long as police are satisfied there is no complicity in smuggling them in."
He explains that immigration officials need to be present to impose the fine and there usually aren't enough around to cope with incidents outside ports. This particularly applies to London and the South-East.
The disclosure could encourage drivers to initially turn an blind eye to stowaways if they know they are there. Drivers who turn them in at the ports still find themselves subject to the fines procedure and must subsequently appeal.
But last month lawyer Ian liothera warned against this, saying it would mean committing a criminal offence of facilitating their entry to the UK (CM17-23 August).
"Once you know somebody is on board and you try to get through customs you are committing the criminal offence of facilitating their entry to the UK," said Rothera.