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Honest driver ruined
Page 6
Page 7
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AN INTERNATIONAL ownerdriver has been ruined by British immigration laws which punished him for handing over stowaways he found in the back of his trailer.
Brian Kent discovered the illegal immigrants in his tilt while on a ferry from Calais to Dover in October 2000 (CM 7 Dec 2000).
He tipped off the authorities which promptly fined him £14,000 and impounded his Scania 3-Series artic. Kent, who was effectively using the truck as his home, had to sleep in the back of a Ford Escort van in a pub carpark in Rainham.
Although he later had the fine cancelled, he lost two years' income in his fight for justice and when the £14,000 artic was returned to him it was in such poor condition — despite being stored in an allegedly secure compound —that it raised just 0300 in scrap. Kent has since sued for compensation and although the judge said a fair award would be almost £60,000, the court could not order the payment because the Asylum and Immigration Law is not compatible with the Human Rights Act.
Judge Peter Cowell asks: "How did it come about that a decent Englishman of good character, responsible for finding stowaways, leading to their lawful detention, could be penalised?"
So far the only compensation Kent has received from the Home Office is £50 for a radio that was stolen from the truck. "If that's all! get then it can go straight to charity,he says. "I'd rather have had a penny out of Jack Straw's pocket he came up with this stupid law in the first place and he's been able to walk away.
"In 20 years there have been two occasions when I've not delivered a load: this one and when I was hijacked in Italy. I know which I'd rather deal with... you know where you are with criminals."
Kent is now considering an appeal to a higher court.