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MA Ewers and driver fined after reporting stowaways
Page 8
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The company says it cannot afford to appeal against the Home Office's "ludicrous" decision. Roanna Avison reports.
AN ESSEX-BASED haulier has called plans to fine it for reporting illegal immigrants on board one of its trucks "ludicrous-.
Last October an MA Ewers truck was coming through Calais when the driver realised he had stowaways on board and reported them. But he and the company have now been fined a total ofi1,250.
A spokeswoman for the company, which is based in Cold Norton, says the vehicle was carrying hazardous goods and was therefore told to wait at the Dunes area outside Calais lobe called.
"When [the driver] received the call he realised that something in the truck was moving. He alerted English Customs," she adds.
A search found five stowaways on board. Because of this search the truck had missed the ferry and was sent back to the Dunes, where another two stowaways boarded. These were dealt with by the French authorities.
However, the spokeswoman reports that within two hours MA Ewers received a fax warning that the company might be fined £2,000 for each illegal immigrant. "We wrote a letter explaining that the vehicle was secure and that we had reported the stowaways to the authorities," the spokeswoman reports. "But this month we received a letter saying our fine had been reduced but the company is liable to pay 1200 per stowaway and the driver has to pay 150 per person. It's ludicrous that we have to pay when we reported the stowaways."
A spokesman for the Home Office says he cannot comment on specific cases which are still open to appeal. He adds that there are penalties in place to encourage drivers to check and secure their vehicles, concluding: "The size of the fine shows how much they complied with this system."
MA Ewers says it cannot afford to appeal the decision, in case the fine is increased or it has to pay costs that could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The firm's spokeswoman says that it has contacted its local MP John Whittingdale and that he is supporting its case.
Whittingdale was not available to comment as CM went to press.