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A fine fiasco...

25th May 2000, Page 6
25th May 2000
Page 6
Page 6, 25th May 2000 — A fine fiasco...
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

• A Kendal-based firm has written to the Prime Minister expressing its dismay at the rejection of its appeal against an 18,000 penalty for carrying illegal immigrants.

Lakeland Commercials says not only did its driver undertake constant checks of the vehicle for signs of entry but he was also given the all-clear by a Calais police officer and was told by immigration and police officers in Dover that no further action would be taken.

Lakeland's managing director Ken Bowman says: "After a lengthy Interview with our driver, the police said they were satisfied that the immigrants had paid someone else to put them in the trailer while tie was parked overnight near Charleroi."

But the Immigration Service claims that the driver "had failed to apply a tilt cord" and "the actions of the police at Calais did not absolve him of the responsibility for checking his own vehicle".

In his letter to Tony Blair, Bowman asks: Is the British Government telling us that we cannot accept the word of a police officer from a European member state?" He goes on: "I feel that it is very unjust for the government to expect the security of our shores, in the case of illegal immigrants, to rest on our shoulders."

Bowman says that the penalty will put extreme financial strain on the small, family-run firm.


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