David Davis MP and coach operator Laurie Bourne of L&R Transport appeared on BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show last Wednesday to discuss the growing crisis in Calais and unfair fines issues to drivers carrying immigrants
The issue of illegal immigrants hoping on-board coaches in Calais became a hot topic on the popular BBC Radio 2 discussion programme, the Jeremy Vine show last Wednesday (August 5).
Reports revealed by the BBC came from a Freedom of Information request from The Border Force and state that there’s approximately £4million of unpaid fines, which has risen by 50% since last year.
Drivers can be fined as much as £2,000 per migrant and hauliers say the system is unfair with thousands of fines issued since March.
The report also suggests that 3,300 fines have been issued to coach and lorry drivers in Calais who are found with migrants on board their vehicle. £7 in £100 fines were issued to British drivers, so overseas drivers are being fined more than UK drivers.
These figures have sparked numerous responses from coach and lorry drivers from across the UK and David Davis the MP for Haltemprice and Howden.
Paddy O’Connell the stand-in presenter for Jeremy Vine explained that on a trip to Calais in October last year, he found that many trucks did not have the security systems in place, with some having no visible padlocks on the backs of their vehicles.
Explaining the origin of the current fines, Peter Whittlesey of BBC South East Kent commented: “Cast your mind back to 1987 when the Carriers Liability Act was introduced. Hauliers who had people in their vehicles were held responsible for breaching immigration.
“Although back then there wasn’t an immigration camp in Calais. Before all these camps appeared it was thought that if drivers did carry migrants, they were involved in some form of criminal activity.
“Last year there were 2,177 fines, this year – which isn’t even over yet – there have been 3,319. I’ve been doing a bit of fag packet maths and roughly two million lorries come through the tunnel a year.
“Last year one in every 900 lorries were fined, this year that’s one in 600 – so there’s a huge increase.
“This year some estimates are claiming that there are over 3,000 migrants in an area at one time with some reports stretching as far as 5,000 in the parts of Calais currently referred to as The Jungle.
“Drivers are simply driving along and migrants are jumping onto their axles, just as they’ve stopped at the junction. They say they didn’t know and are not trying to hoodwink the authorities, ‘if we’re not guilty of a guilty act how can we be responsible and fined for it?’”
Laurie Bourne was fined in October last year after two migrants were found on his coach. The co-owner and driver of L&R Transport appealed the decision but lost his appeal (CBW1200).
Recalling the events that led up to the fine, Laurie told Radio 2: “I was coming out of Calais town hypermarket after shopping with the passengers – we got to the zebra crossing and about 30 migrants crossed in front of the vehicle.
“I had to stop as they were right in front of me – two went around the back and crowbarred the locks open. These are secure padlocks, but if they want to get in they will. It has cost me around £270 to have the locks repaired, yet I was still landed with a £2,000 fine. I feel it’s totally unjust and I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, we do everything that is physically possible to secure our vehicles.
“They tell you not to stop anywhere in Calais and we don’t. Now they’re telling you to check your vehicles before you get to border control – how are you supposed to stop and check if you aren’t allowed?
“Drivers without locks have no defence that’s true, but the British government should be doing more to secure our borders.”
Commenting on his fight against the fine, Laurie added: “We’re doing everything we physically can, MPs are involved now and we’re going to everyone we can that will help.
“The last resort is taking it to county court and paying the court costs, although we’re a little apprehensive as what judge in England is going to rule against the British government and The Border Force?”
Former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis, now the Conservative MP for Haltemprice and Howden responded: “I have some sympathy for Laurie and I’d say to him if I was his MP – don’t be afraid of the courts overturning the government. I just had a case three weeks ago, in which we defeated the government and it was over something much bigger than this.
“Judges are perfectly able to make the rules in what you might call natural justice, where someone has been caught out by the system but they have done everything possible to avoid the misdemeanour of bringing an illegal immigrant into the country.
“If I was his MP I’d recommend he go to court – it’s the reason we have courts. It looks like Laurie has been conned, but that doesn’t undermine the whole system – which is necessary.”
He added: “There was an estimate a few years ago that stated that the number of illegal immigrants in the country was over half a million and possibly approaching one million – I wouldn’t be surprised if it was now over one million.
“That causes real costs to society, real problems of crime and disorder – we have to make sure that these loopholes and ways in are closed.”
