Hauliers have little incentive to hand over migrants they may find stowed away in their vehicles because of hefty fines imposed by UK Border Force, industry figures have said.



In one case, a lorry driver was issued with a £19,500 fine, despite calling police when he discovered around a dozen people inside his trailer while driving on the M25.

The number of fines issued to hauliers for “clandestine entrants” has more than tripled in just three years, new figures show, with drivers facing on the spot fines of up to £2,000 for each person found inside their vehicles.

In the past three years, the statistics show 6,494 people have been found inside vehicles entering the UK, but the true number of people coming into Britain this way is likely to be far higher as drivers can avoid fines if they can prove they have carried out checks.

The director of MoveCorp has said fines are an incentive for drivers not to inform authorities if they find people stowed away in their vehicles. Guardian

The figures, released to the Press Association under the Freedom of Information Act, show the number of fines has increased from 998 in 2012-13, to 3,319 over the past year.

James Tennant, director of West Midlands haulage firm MoveCorp, said his drivers were being put at risk by increasingly desperate people attempting to climb on to vehicles. One was fined £19,500, and although it was reduced on appeal, the company lost £18,000 in fines and legal costs.

“It’s at breaking point,” he told the Guardian. “One of my drivers actually had his vehicle inspected on his way into the UK for CO2 emissions, but they didn’t check inside the trailer.

“He heard banging on the M25 and knew people were inside, so he called police and they found 13 people inside. We had a letter from the [Border Force] fining us £19,500.”

Tennant said the fines were an incentive for drivers not to inform the authorities if they found people stowed away in their vehicles. “My driver did the right thing, followed company procedure, and was penalised. Luckily we can afford to pay the costs, but it would have ruined a small family firm.”

The volatile situation at Calais meant checks could be very difficult, he added. “Drivers can be threatened, people throw things at the lorry and it’s dangerous for a driver who is alone there late at night,” he said.

Donald Armour, manager of the international department at the Freight Transport Association, told the Guardian that the Home Office needed to show more understanding for drivers who might be too intimidated to conduct thorough checks.

“There’s a procedure the Home Office expects drivers to follow but it’s difficult for the drivers who have to get out of their vehicles, walk around them, and check all the locks,” he said. “Previously, you might have had one person, or maybe two or three trying to get in.

“But now it’s large groups of people. Now you can find 17 people trying to get in, not three.

“We advise drivers not to risk their safety if they hear people in the back of the lorry when they’ve crossed to the UK but to go immediately to the border police at Dover. But people could be afraid that if they do that, they will get fined.”

Armour said if the Home Office was satisfied that drivers had done all they could, then they would not be fined. But he said officials needed to understand checks were difficult at night when migrants were attempting to jump on to lorries, and drivers could not risk an accident by climbing to check the roofs of their vehicles.

UK has ‘got a grip’ on Calais migrant crisis, says foreign secretary Philip Hammond. Guardian

A Home Office spokesman said only 7% of those caught were British drivers and said penalties only applied when drivers were deemed to have carried out improper checks. “Most hauliers take their responsibility for vehicle security seriously, but despite cooperation from the British haulage industry, one third of lorries arriving at the UK border do not have basic standards of security,” the spokesman said.

“The purpose of civil penalties is to ensure that all drivers are taking every reasonable step to stop migrants from boarding their lorries. Drivers who have properly secured vehicles will not receive a fine.

“It is in all of our interests to combat attempts to enter the UK illegally, which can damage the haulage industry financially and place the safety of drivers at risk,” the spokesman added.