From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)


I have heard comment before that if someone who is being pursued by the police jumps on a train just as the doors close, and the train then pulls out, the train driver is not guilty of aiding and abetting.   That makes sense - but how far does that release go if you (the driver) is not aware of the extra passenger, or has not checked that all his passengers are travelling for legitimate reasons?

How does this apply to a bus driver?  To the driver of a community bus?  To a taxi driver?

I am afraid you have either Jack Straw or David Blunkett to blame for this. At one time, a bounty was offered (I think it was £1000) to any lorry driver who reported an illegal migrant on their truck. During the tenure of one of them as Home Secretary (possibly under advice from the Home Office officials) this changed to imposing fines on anyone found with an illegal immigrant on their vehicle.

I remember hearing this on the car radio, in busy traffic, and noting what a large proportion of the trucks were "curtainside" vehicles, with fabric sides that are tied down and rolled up to facilitate the loading and unloading of palleted goods by forklift trucks, realising how difficult these are to secure and how important they are for the efficient delivery of goods, and despairing at the poor quality of policy making sometimes shown by our governments and their advisers. 

And of course, in the interest of balance, the supremely incompetent Robert Jenrick increased the fines from £2000 to £10,000 in 2023.....