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The UK Border Agency is unable to allay operators' concerns that it is placing too much emphasis on drivers completing checklists as proof of their innocence when stowaways are found inside lorries. An investigation into search procedures at foreign ports has revealed unease among drivers, transport lawyers and trade associations that the results of high-tech CO2 checks and infra-red scans count for nothing if a company has not ensured  its drivers are checking vehicles in compliance with government guidance.

The issue was highlighted by the experience of John English Transport, which was initially fined £2,400 when three illegal immigrants were found in one of its trailers at Calais. This was after the driver had checked his trailer three times and received negative results from infra-red scans and CO2 checks. The Home Office argued that the company was not ensuring drivers carried out checks exactly as stated in the government's code of practice. English finally managed to get the fine cancelled after almost a year of trying.

He says: "The checks don't make any sense. Whoever wrote it clearly has no idea of what they are saying." Transport lawyer Tim Culpin says: "There's an inordinate burden on the driver. The industry is being expected to police our borders drivers are not well equipped to deal with that." A UK Border Agency spokeswoman says:  "Third-party checks are a useful addition to an effective system operated to prevent the carriage of clandestine entrants but are not a defence against the imposition of a penalty."