How a £1,500 fine for reporting motorhome migrant was overturned

Adrian and Joanne Fenton called the police after finding a migrant on the back of their motorhome. They were given a £1,500 fine, leading to widespread criticism of Border Force and the Home Office. What happened next?

The couple said they boarded Le Shuttle from Calais to Folkestone in Kent on the evening of 15 October, after they had been travelling around France.

When they reached their home in Heybridge, Essex, 57-year-old Mr Fenton said he discovered a young man zipped inside the cover of a bike rack on the back of their motorhome.

The Fentons said they immediately called police and the young man, who claimed he was 16 and from Sudan, was taken away.

The couple thought this was the end of the story, but later they were sent a fine for £1,500 from the Home Office.

The Fentons were stunned to be fined for reporting a stowaway and decided to call the JVS Show on BBC Three Counties Radio to tell consumer presenter Jonathan Vernon-Smith about their predicament.

Mrs Fenton, 55, explained the Home Office email outlining the fine arrived over the Christmas period while they were travelling in Australia.

It said they failed to "check that no clandestine entrant was concealed in the vehicle", but Mrs Fenton contested that technically he was clinging to the outside rather than aboard the motorhome.

The fine referenced asylum and immigration legislation.

In an email exchange to the Home Office, seen by the BBC, Mr Fenton, a retired firefighter, wrote: "At no point did I believe I would be fined by taking correct and moral action.

"This action taken by Border Force to impose a fine only encourages travellers [or] holidaymakers in this position not to call the police but to let the stowaway abscond."

The story was picked up by all the national newspaper publications and broadcasters.

It also made headlines in the Washington Post in the USA.

Tony Smith, the former head of Border Force, later told BBC Three Counties Radio that "one would hope common sense would prevail".

The dispute inspired a YouGov poll, which asked more than 4,600 British adults if they thought the penalty was fair.

A total of 81% of respondents concluded it was "unfair".

Maldon's Conservative Sir John Whittingdale - the Fentons' local MP - wrote to Minister for Border Security and Asylum Dame Angela Eagle, asking her to review the case.

He addressed the prime minister about the row on Wednesday, telling the House of Commons: "Will [the prime minister] agree that my constituent ought to be thanked rather than punished?

"Does he accept this action will send a message to deter anybody from acting responsibly in the future?"

Sir Keir Starmer responded that he was aware of the incident, adding: "I am concerned about it.

"I do think it's important that the Home Office look into it."

Mr Fenton told BBC Essex after the Commons exchange: "We're very pleased it has now reached that level.

"We don't feel holidaymakers should be brought into this process."

The Home Office and Border Force says owners, drivers, hirers and operators must secure their vehicles to prevent "unauthorised access by clandestine entrants".

Otherwise, Border Force can issue fines of up to £10,000 for "each clandestine".

The penalty scheme is based on the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

However, the legislation defines a clandestine entrant as someone "concealed in" a vehicle, ship or aircraft.

The Fentons argued that the young man was not concealed in their vehicle, but was inside a bike cover attached to the back of the motorhome.

The law further states that it is a defence if a carrier can show that "he did not know, and had no reasonable grounds for suspecting, that a clandestine entrant was, or might be, concealed in the transporter".

Mrs Fenton said no border officials inspected the bike rack or inside the cover before or after the channel crossing.

On Sunday, the BBC reported the £1,500 fine imposed on Mr and Mrs Fenton had been cancelled.

The pair said they received an email from Border Force, which is part of the Home Office, reducing the fine to £0.

Mrs Fenton said she was "ecstatic" about the Home Office's change of heart but the couple remained concerned about others who might be hit with a similar penalty.

"How many more people are going to get caught out exactly the same?" she said.

Mr Fenton said the Home Office should "be looking at their policy and make sure that it's fit for purpose and not targeting holidaymakers".

The Home Office told the BBC it would not be commenting further.

Vernon-Smith, speaking after the news broke about the cancellation, said: "When Joanne first called me, I thought it must be a mistake.

"How could the Home Office fine someone for what I would think is 'doing the right thing?'

"Yes, there are things we can all do to protect our own borders, but surely this was a huge injustice?"

With the fine lifted, Vernon-Smith continued: "I'm absolutely thrilled.

"It struck me from the start this was an inappropriate use of the fining system.

"They were the victims in all of this and I am pleased for Joanne and Adrian this has been amended."

He added: "But it makes you wonder how many others have been affected and have just gone ahead and paid?"

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