Jeff York
Whatever. Either the driver is going to pay it or he isn't. If he doesn't, he should be punished in other ways. But the more the penalty and the less likelihood of the driver paying it, the more incentive for the owner to pay it quickly and get his lorry out of custody. The only time that doesn't work is if the penalty is more than the lorry is worth.
The idea was very *obviously* to get the drivers to make whatever checks were necessary (ie, the ones which all of a sudden led to the "discovery" of the "illegals") whilst still in France, Belgium, etc.
Once they were here, the legal situation changes fundamentally in respect of those "illegals", hence the difference in legal approach.
I do understand what you and others are saying about the apparent harshness of the situation, but what of a driver who (for instance) took money from "illegals" and promised them "I'll deliver you direct to the UK authorities who will see that you are housed, fed and given money, and all you have to do is give me £love upfront and a promise that you will say you hid in my lorry without my knowledge and that I found you in the lorry at the services on the M20"?
If he is capable of finding them in the lorry in Kent (driving *along* the M20 according to some reports), he can do it at Calais and it is just excuse-making to suggest that he can't.
