A British haulage boss has slammed Home Office officials for fining him £66,000 after he claims six migrants ‘snuck into the back’ of one of his lorries to enter the UK.
Ed Rogers, owner of E.M. Rogers Transport, said he is furious with the UK Border Force after its officials found the migrants in the back of one of his company’s lorries at the French border.
The businessman said he and his driver were being punished for ‘not being border force agents or security guards’.
He told GB News: ‘Our guys are just normal guys going about their work and they are not border force agents. They are not security guards. He and we are being punished on this occasion for not fulfilling those roles.’
The haulier company had previously claimed another of its lorries was attacked by migrants in France, who used iron bars and breeze blocks to smash its windscreen and door windows.
Writing about the fine on Facebook, Rogers claimed his company, which has been operating for nearly 80 years, was ‘actually the victims of organised gangs’.
MailOnline understands the fine was in relation to a number of cases of negligence from its drivers, with a probe into the firm ongoing.
Home Office figures show more than 3,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far this year.
Ed Rogers, owner of E.M. Rogers Transport, told GB News that he was being ‘punished’ after six migrants ‘snuck into the back’ of one of his lorries
The haulier company had previously claimed another of its lorries was attacked by migrants in France in 2021
The windscreen and door windows of the truck were smashed, and Mr Rogers said the driver was left feeling ‘very shaken and upset’ by the incident
But Mr Rogers says he and one of his drivers are being punished for the incident involving the six migrants, who were found in the back of one of his lorries by UK border police in France.
He claims the lorry had been travelling from Italy through France to reach Britain and managed to get through French security checks before being held up at the UK’s scanners.
Mr Rogers said: ‘We are just going about our normal working practices and in this example one of our drivers was coming back from Italy. He came back through the normal route back through France. He went through the scanners on the French side of the border.
‘When it came to the UK side, which is still in France, they found six immigrants in his trailer.’
Mr Rogers, whose company transports rare, valuable and classic cars across Europe on its lorries, took to social media on Monday to criticise the fine.
He wrote: ‘We have been fined this frankly ridiculous amount of money for honestly doing our job, alongside our driver who has been fined £36,000, UK Border Force are fining us for bringing 6 illegals over in one of our trucks.
‘THIS is the same Border Force that cant stop the boats we hear about arriving daily from across the channel. We are actually the victims of organised gangs that target vulnerable lorry drivers whilst they sleep.
‘Can you imagine having your house broken into at night and then being fined for it ??’
Mr Rogers said said he and his driver were being punished for ‘not being border force agents or security guards’
In May 2021, Pictures of a E.M. Rogers Transport lorry, shared by the businessman, showed its smashed windows and broken body work from where he claims it was attacked by the migrants.
Two large, circular smashes are seen in the windshield with some holes in the glass, while the door windows appear to have been totally destroyed.
At the time, he called for more action to be taken to protect haulage workers driving in and out of mainland Europe.
MailOnline understands an investigation into Mr Rogers’ claims are still ongoing.
A Home Office spokesperson said:’We are relentless in our pursuit of those who seek to enter the UK illegally, and stand ready to respond robustly to clandestine arrivals.
‘Far too many vehicles are not adequately secured to stop migrants boarding them. That’s why, in the last 12 months, we have strengthened the haulier civil penalty with significantly increased financial penalties to ensure that drivers are taking every reasonable step to deter illegal migration and disrupt people smugglers.’
Pictured: Migrants run across the A 16 motorway in an attempt to climb into the back of lorries bound for Britain while traffic is stopped upon waiting to board shuttles at the entrance to the Channel Tunnel site in Calais, northern France, on December 10, 2020
In January 2023, the fines for lorry drivers who inadvertently brought stowaways into Britain rose from £2,000 to £10,000 for each ‘clandestine entrant’.
The maximum fine applies for each migrant found in a vehicle, meaning if a driver has two stowaways they could face a £20,000 penalty.
Increased fines were introduced last year as part of the Government’s determination to ‘crack down on illegal migration’ and ‘to dismantle the organised criminal gangs behind it’.
While the exact number of migrants entering the UK clandestinely each year is not known, analysis from Migration Watch UK suggests that there have been at least 320,000 attempts to come to this country without prior permission from Northern France between 2014 and 2022.
In that time, there have been around 110,000 detected and reported irregular arrivals from Northern France via dinghy and lorry.
In the year ending June 2023, Home Office statistics showed there were 52,530 irregular migrants detected entering the UK, up 17 per cent from the year ending June 2022, with 85 per cent arriving by boat.
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