Senior Policy Manager at Logistics UK, Chris Yarsley, has responded to the government’s announcement of increased fines for hauliers found carrying clandestine migrants into the UK.

He said, “The government’s plans to increase fines for those found to be carrying victims of people-smuggling gangs, from £2,000 per person to £10,000 per person, will not tackle the root-cause of the problem. Professional operators remain vigilant at all times when moving goods across the UK’s borders, but government must acknowledge that the responsible drivers and hauliers are themselves the victims of the criminal people-smugglers who prey on innocent migrants.”

“Hauliers and drivers are not professionally trained immigration officers or trained security staff and should not be expected to take the fall for the failings of border operations.”

Logistics UK is calling for urgent improvements to ensure detection systems used in ports are fully effective in locating hidden individuals on vehicles and for more to be done to provide safe and secure passage for vehicles travelling to the Channel ports, along with more secure overnight parking and increased policing.

Photo: Chris Yarsley, Senior Policy Manager at Logistics UK.