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:urotunnel to fight mmigrant penalties

26th July 2001, Page 9
26th July 2001
Page 9
Page 9, 26th July 2001 — :urotunnel to fight mmigrant penalties
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

r

Dominic Perry itunnel is planning to fight government in the High 't if it presses ahead with is to extend the £2,000-a

stowaway fines to )(tunnel trains.

urotunnel claims that the irnment would be acting ally if it imposed these civil ilties because the treaty trning the Channel Tunnel 'Wes the French and British trnments to act together in ters of security.

lie company believes it has an important legal precet after appeal court judges d in its favour when it chaled the government over irity measures at its estone terminal.

flie government had wed Eurotunnel to fit a secx-ray machine at the teral but neglected to consult with the French authorities.

A spokeswoman for Eurotunnel says: We would have installed the extra machine anyway, to cope with the growth in freight traffic, but we objected to the imposition of it on us.

The court ruled that the secretary of state had acted unlawfully and that his directions should be quashed."

There will be a six-week consultation period before the government decides whether to extend the fines to the tunnel.

If the ruling goes against Eurotunnel, the stowaway fines imposed on hauliers would pale into insignificance. In the first six months of this year about 5,200 illegal immigrants have been found on Eurotunnel trains with another 18,500 caught in France. This would equate to fines of £6.4m. In the same period the company has suffered a 3% drop in its operating profits, to £87m.

It has called on the French and UK governments to take tougher steps to stem the tide of refugees.

These measures include the relocation of the Sangatte Red Cross centre, which it claims is being used as a base for refugees preparing to attempt the crossing.

Eurotunnel has already spent up to E3m on security at its French terminal.

• Nearly 2,500 illegal immigrants have been caught trying to board P&O Stena Line ferries a'. Calais since it introduced compulsory gas checks eight months ago.

The latest figures show that 2,484 illegal immigrants were caught at Calais, with 62 intercepted at Zeebrugge.

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Organisations: Red Cross
People: Dominic Perry

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