LeeSorr:
My name is Lee Sorrell. I am head of investigations at ITV’s flagship
current affairs series Tonight.
Rikki Chequer, an administrator for the Forum, has given me the okay to post this note.
The reason for contacting you all is that I am currently conducting some
research into the problems faced by lorry drivers with stowaways
attempting to board their lorries around the French and Belgian
channel ports.
I am aware that, among other things, lorry drivers have been
confronted with intimidation and threats of violence from those
attempting to get into the UK. In some instances, drivers have been
attacked.
I am also aware that drivers have been approached directly by criminals who are involved in organising immigrants to get across at service stations etc in and around the port areas.
I am also aware of the problems of drivers and operators facing fines
if found to have stowaways on board. A common complaint is that many
of these fines have been levelled unfairly.
To assist with my research, I would be grateful for any feedback from drivers who have experienced the type of problems detailed above or have a view on the current situation in the channel port areas.
I want to make sure that when I produce my report, that the views of lorry drivers are taken into account.
Those with something to say on the subject can either contact me through the Forum or by sending an e-mail to me at lee.sorrell@grandamedia.com. The information is for research purposes only and will be treated in strict confidence.
Thanks for taking the time to read this message and I look forward to hearing from some of you.
Regards
Lee Sorrell
I have had loads of clandestine get into the back of my trucks over the years, luckily I have always found them before reaching the UK…I have never ever been approached by these traffickers asking me to take them into the UK, I have been threatened with violence when getting them out of my truck. I have had problems getting the Police or CRS to get into my truck to get them out, and have always felt the UK Immigration department are more about revenue collecting than dealing with the problem… I once had some clandestine climb into my truck whilst parked at the “Beach” in Calais, I tried to phone the police in Calais but only got an answer machine, next I phoned the immigration dept in Dover for advise, but got an answer machine, then phoned P&O (my shipper that day) who said it was not their problem. In the end I found some other British drivers and chased the people out of my truck…I would be lucky to find any British drivers now with all the foreign drivers in our trucks.
All the time there is a schengen agreement we will have this problem. The clandestine must leave the schengen countries if the are not claiming asylum so they can either go home or come to England, the French are powerless to stop them…
We are the place where the buck always stops.
When the duty immigration officer in Calais gets personally fined for fence jumpers, then I will understand how they can fine us personally for what is beyond our control.
It is like us being responsible for drug trafficking when we load out of groupage warehouses in Spain thousands of boxes and we should know what is in every one of them 
look into how many innocent British truck drivers are locked up in France for trafficking from Spanish groupage warehouses and you will have a story worth pursuing
