EM Rogers’ director, Ed Rogers, told the BBC that the driver had taken all the necessary precautions to prevent stowaways, including checking his vehicle thoroughly before setting off, and using security seals on the doors.
However, three migrants were still able to break into the vehicle at some point during the journey.
The driver was fined £9,000, and the company £15,000.
Ed Rogers said he was “disappointed” with the fines, which were “unfair” on the driver as he had done everything he could to prevent stowaways. Rogers added that it was “impossible to guarantee” that stowaways would not be able to break into lorries. In this case, the lorry had no obvious signs of entry, explained the haulage boss.
Commenting on the news, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) said it was “unacceptable” that lorry drivers were being fined for stowaways when they had taken all the necessary precautions.
The RHA added that the government needed to do more to prevent stowaways from breaking into lorries, such as increasing security at ports and providing more support for Border Force officers.
In a previous incident in March, EM Rogers was fined £3,000 for unknowingly transporting three migrants to the Port of Calais. The company’s director, Sarah Boyson, said at the time that it was the job of the Home Office and Border Force to stop migrants entering the UK, not hauliers and drivers.
From 13 February 2023, the Government increased the maximum fines from £2,000 to £10,000 for each stowaway found on a truck coming into the UK.
Photo credits @ Flickr/ EDDIE – shared under CC BY-ND 2.0