Lorry driver disputes fine over stowaway immigrants

Michael Fletcher says he is being wrongly being targeted for "doing the right thing"

A lorry driver who discovered stowaway immigrants in his vehicle while coming back from France is battling authorities to drop a £12,000 fine.

Michael Fletcher, 63, from the Forest of Dean says he is facing debt collectors and is being penalised by UK Border Force “for doing the right thing”.

Mr Fletcher alerted authorities to his suspicions after he felt his lorry move while boarding the ferry at Calais on 16 September 2023.

Border Force claimed he was unable to produce a checklist at the time, but Mr Fletcher said this is untrue.

Mr Fletcher was returning to the UK via France with a delivery from a factory in Germany

Mr Fletcher said he had passed the security checks at the UK Immigration Control Zone in Calais and was about to board the ferry when he felt a suspicious movement in the back of his lorry.

“I did all the checks. I walked around to the front and I thought the only place now is up on the roof, and that’s four metres high," he said.

"I looked over and could see where they cut the roof and somebody had sealed it back with tape.

“The police came, they took the immigrants. The UK Border Force said here you are, here’s your paperwork. You can go now.”

Michael Fletcher says he completed all the required security checks of his lorry

Mr Fletcher said he was advised by officers that he had done all the necessary checks, but was shocked to receive the letter from the Border Force in February.

After he provided photographic evidence of the checklist he submitted to authorities, Border Force are now seeking a reduced fine of £3,000.

“I refuse to pay for a fine when I’ve done nothing wrong,” he said.

“I don’t understand how they can fine me when they haven’t taken me to court.

“I just want my issue resolved. I’m now waiting for bailiffs to come take the value of the fine."

Mr Fletcher says the first correspondence he received on the matter was "how to pay the £12,000 fine"

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Fletcher had parked the night before in the Calais registered truck stop, where the government recommends drivers should park.

A border control officer allegedly told him they had found several stowaways in vehicles that had come from that site recently.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to securing the border and cracking down on people smugglers.

“The Clandestine Entrant Civil Penalty Scheme aims to ensure drivers are taking every reasonable step to deter irregular migration and disrupt people smugglers.”