We will not back down
Page 5
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If ever we needed a clear signal that Commercial Motor is barking up the RIGHT tree then our snapshot survey of active international operators has provided it. Every man jack of them is in no doubt—the Home Office is WRONG to keep the 12m worth of fines paid out by those hauliers who've unwittingly carried illegal immigrants into the UK.
The logic behind the government's argument is both mystifying and astonishing, but it seems to go something like this: "If operators and drivers have paid their fines, then they've all but admitted liability." And the alternative was what, exactly? We'll tell you what: prosecution for non-payment of fines, followed by more fines and possibly prison. And let's not forget that paying those fines was also a prerequisite to getting their impounded trucks back so they could get on with their jobs.
Now the Court of Appeal has forced the government to drop its daim for a further ii2m worth of fines, it seems bizarre that Mr Blair and his chums should somehow 'disconnect' themselves from refunding the £2m already collected. The government seems to think that any haulier who paid his fine negated his right to fair treatment.
To continue our opening canine metaphor, Commercial Motor intends to worry this issue like a dog with a bone. And only when the Home Office has refunded the money it snatched from innocent hauliers will we consider the matter dead and
buried. Men Weathetiey, Editor-In-MK