Operator and Driver Faced £12000 of Civil Penalties – All Cancelled on Appeal to the County Court

Barrister, Millicent Dooher successfully appealed the civil penalties imposed on this Company and their Driver. 10 clandestine entrants had been discovered in the trailer of the vehicle arriving in the UK.

After a contested hearing, the Circuit Judge found that the statutory defence was made out and the penalties, totalling £12 000, were cancelled in their entirety. The Court also noted that, in any event, had the defence not been made out, the Judge would have used her discretionary powers to cancel all of the penalties imposed on the Company and its driver.