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TAKING A LIBERTY!

27th August 1998
Page 8
Page 8, 27th August 1998 — TAKING A LIBERTY!
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

ou can take liberty too far. And that's exactly what civil rights group Liberty risks doing when it claims that checking for benefit fraudsters or illegal immigrants during routine roadside HGV spotchecks is "extremely questionable". What's in question is if it's right to ignore the opportunities provided by a multi-agency check simply because Liberty is worried DSS officers might be on a "fishing expedition". Of course they are on a fishing expedition! They're trawling for drivers who rip off the system twice—once by taking dole while claiming they can't find work; and twice by pocketing used-fiver payments from unscrupulous operators who are pleased to get cut-rate employees with no questions asked on tax or National Insurance. What better place to catch them, and their dodgy employers, than out on the road? Judging by the DSS's figures, it has already netted a sizeable catch. After questioning 6,348 drivers last year, 392 stopped claiming benefits, saving the taxpayer 21.2m. That's £1 .2m that could be spent on schools, hospitals—dare one even say roads? Maybe the Road Haulage Association is right to describe this questioning as not being within the spirit of the law, But we doubt whether its members are so

preoccupied with civil liberties while they're having to compete against rivals who emply benefit cheats. When money for enforcement is being spread thinner and thinner, multi-agency roadside checks remain a costeffective way of catching every kind of bent operator and driver. And the sooner Liberty starts worrying about the effect these cowboy operators are having on law-abiding hauliers, the more likely it is to get any sympathy from CM.

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Organisations: Road Haulage Association

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