Richard Barraclough QC instructed in appeal by Dutch haulage company against civil penalty under Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

Richard Barraclough QC has been instructed in an important appeal by a Dutch haulage company against a civil penalty imposed by the Secretary of State under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

He is instructed to lead Simon Clarke of Messrs Cartwright King of Derby in the Court of Appeal in an appeal by a Dutch haulage company against the decision of the Secretary of State for The Home Department to levy a civil penalty under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 after a number of clandestine entrants were found in a sealed trailer containing a consignment of Royal Mail packets loaded in Frankfurt secure air side and destined for Royal Mail premises in the United Kingdom.

The issues will concern the extent to which the Secretary of State and any court on appeal must take into account an absence of any fault in the haulage company when deciding to levy a penalty, the extent to which the Code of Practice is to be adhered to and principles of strict liability.

The Court of Appeal when granting permission to appeal described the grounds as raising important questions of principle.

The case is due to be heard in March next year.