ii Today d k aoyf illegalc o m m i e ro r m c i
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during their journey home. Many people have no idea of the true situation in France, Belgium and other neighbouring European countries. Unfortunately one of those ignorant of the facts is Home Secretary Jack Straw. He clearly does not know what actually takes place in night , -,-;-; time Calais. This is the time when .z i z illegal immigrants make their way 0 towards the docks in multitudes.
i Being an HGV driver myself I c4 witness all that happens. Also, .i=' having been in some close , E encounters, I have found that the police, customs and security ci guards do not show any concern so long as a situation does not 0 .
H. involve them.
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Et After recent reports following a colleague's misfortunes and hearing his story, it does not surprise me that authorities on either side of the Channel seem to have different views on the matter. On many occasions I have heard of drivers pulling up at Calais and informing the Customs officers and police that they think they may have other people on board. Then the driver will be sent to England, reassured that English Customs are the appropriate authority to deal with the situation.
On other occasions, when refuelling in Calais, English drivers have been confronted by illegal immigrants and threatened with implements such as knives, baseball bats and other weapons.
The new laws concerning the smuggling of illegal immigrants suit the Government, however unjust it may be to foist legal and financial responsibility for an international problem on the innocent UK HGV driver.
We pay our taxes like any other individual in this country and also suffer higher fuel tax than any other country—and then on top we have to pay such fines. I feel we, as drivers, do all that is imaginable to prevent stowaways gaining passage by continually searching our trailers and in turn risking our own safety—yet we are still punished.
if our government was concerned about this predicament it would clamp down on immigrant smugglers and not us. This is a major problem that should be investigated properly in the UK. Why is it that the HGV driver always comes out worst from this situation? And what is the chance of a small family business surviving punitive fines as a result of this situation?
In the worse case scenario our business and many others could close. Our industry will gradually be crippled, hardworking hauliers will make the unemployment queues longer—and the basic political problem and great tragedy of human smuggling will remain.