Essex lorry deaths: County Armagh man charged

The bodies were discovered early on 23 October in an industrial estate in Thurrock

A man has been charged in connection with the deaths of 39 people found in the back of a lorry in Essex.

The bodies were found in a refrigerated container in Thurrock on 23 October.

Christopher Kennedy, 23, of County Armagh, Northern Ireland, has been charged with human trafficking offences.

He was arrested in the early hours of Friday on the M40 in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and will appear before Chelmsford magistrates on Monday.

The bodies of the 39 Vietnamese nationals were found on the Waterglade Industrial Estate in a container which had been shipped to nearby Purfleet from Zeebrugge in Belgium.

Ten teenagers, including two 15-year-old boys, were among the eight women and 31 men.

Mr Kennedy, of Corkley Road in Darkley, has been charged with conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of people with a view to exploitation, and conspiracy to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law.

Lorry driver Maurice Robinson, 25, of Laurel Drive, Craigavon, has been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter and will appear at the Old Bailey in London on Monday.

Three other people who were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people have been released on bail.