1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168 
Shouldn't be your job
Page 3
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
When it comes to the latest 'advice' from the government's Immigration Service to a haulier finding stowaways hiding in one his trucks, you really couldn't make it up.
Turners (Sohaml of Newmarket was told to politely direct nine illegals to turn themselves in to the immigration office in Croydon, Surrey, as the police were too busy to arrest them lsee page 71. Coming on top of the pronouncement that X-rayilg trucks as they come through the Channel ports is breaching stowaways' human rights, it makes you wonder whose side the Law is on these days.
Drivers and operators can already be fined up to £2,000 per 'clandestine entrant' if they unwittingly carry illegal immigrants into Britain, though the amount may be reduced if drivers can show they complied with the Carriers' Liability (Clandestine Entrants( Code of Practice. The average operator could, however, question how practical this is. To quote: "The driver of the vehicle must check it to ensure that no persons have gained entry and are concealed within. It must then be locked, sealed, or otherwise made secure to prevent unauthorised entry. If not present at the time of final loading, the owner, hirer or driver must, where possible, ensure that such checks are conducted at that point by reputable persons and then obtain written confirmation from those persons that these checks were properly conducted."
Operators have enough on their plates without taking on all the responsibility for detecting and preventing illegal immigration and isn't that something we pay our taxes for the police and Immigration Service to do? Quite apart from the risk of physical violence if a lone driver discovers nine illegals on board his
vehicle, it is wrong in principle for government agencies to push their responsibilities for
securing Britain's borders on to hauliers. The latest twist in the tale may seem laughable, but asking immigrants to travel 90 miles to turn themselves in shows how ludicrous the situation has become.