18 March 2008
We received a petition asking:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Provide answers to the following questions regarding UK Truckdrivers held in Foreign Jails.”
Details of Petition:
“We are concerned about Truck Drivers who transport Palletised goods across National Borders.Drug Smugglers have ways of hiding Illegal Substances inside the pallets of goods,the drugs being discovered by Customs and/or Police sniffer dogs when the trucks go through checkpoints. Where is the Political Will to bring about a Fair and equitable approach to the Drugs Smuggling problem? Locking up the drivers doesnt make the problem go away. We,the undersigned,wish to know: 1. Since the dropping of border checks within the so-called Schengen group in 1995, how many British truckdrivers are held in French prisons because they were searched by the French Authorities who found drugs concealed within the load on the truck. 2. How many of these loads were collected from Groupage clearing houses in Spain. 3. How many of these loads included consignments of Stone floor or wall tiles. 4. Which of the government agencies from the countries involved,actively participate in collaborative background checks on the consignor, clearing and shipping agents, the driver and owner of the truck and the consignee or agent at the point of destination.”
Read the petition
Petitions home page
Read the Government’s responseThe UK Government is unable to provide any statistics on truck drivers imprisoned in France on drug smuggling offences since 1995. Although the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Consular Network in France keeps files on all British nationals that are detained in France, these only cover the past five years. In addition, we do not record information centrally on the circumstances surrounding each British national that has been detained in France (including, in this case, the contents and the origins of the consignments that resulted in truck drivers being detained).
We are also unable to comment on the checks carried out by other Governments on individuals and companies involved with road haulage across borders.
The Government works regularly with the Road Haulage Association on a wide range of issues relating to transit through European ports. If a British national is arrested or held in custody or prison in a country overseas, the authorities in that country should ask them whether they want them to contact the British Embassy, High Commission, or Consulate, especially if they are charged with a serious offence.
usaual cop out what else did i expect though ■■?
