A LOCAL farm has been fined £20,000 after a large-scale raid by the UK Border Agency found 13 illegal workers employed there.

Immigration officers went to Merrifield Farm, Upton Hellions, near Crediton, early on July 1, 2009 and checked the immigration status of migrant workers.

In total, 13 people from Afghanistan and Namibia were found to have no right to work in the UK.

Since the operation, two men and a woman from Namibia and two men from Afghanistan have been removed from the UK.

The employer, Peter Coleman, was told that to avoid a large fine he had to provide evidence that legally-required checks were carried out before giving the workers jobs – such as asking for a work permit or another Home Office document.

Full proof of checks was not provided for six of the illegal workers and the Mr Coleman has now been fined £20,000.

Jane Farleigh, the UK Border Agency's regional director for Wales and the South West, said: "As this significant fine shows, we will not turn a blind eye to foreign nationals working in the UK without permission.

"The message is clear for employers — we will not tolerate illegal working. It is a crime that not only undercuts local business but also has a serious impact on communities, taking jobs from those who are genuinely allowed to work.

"There are simple ways of checking a foreign national's right to work and there is no excuse for not checking the identity of those applying for jobs.

"Last year in Devon and Cornwall we removed 180 offenders, carried out 84 illegal working raids and handed out fines worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to businesses breaking the law."

Mr Coleman has since called the magnitude of the £20,000 fine "ridiculous".

He said he considered the large-scale raid, which saw 50 immigration and police officers involved in one of the biggest operations of its kind ever seen in Devon and Cornwall raid the farm, a "very inappropriate use of taxpayers' money".

Mr Coleman added: "I'll try to make sure the business doesn't go under.

"When businesses are struggling, the fine does nothing to encourage anybody to invest money in order to put money back into the community.

"We have just over 100 employees and inject £1m per year into the economy through wages.

"We did our very best to comply with the law but we were not actually fined for employing illegal immigrants.

"They are fining me for not having the correct paperwork – I think it is a little different.

"The police complimented us on the quality of our record-keeping but it still wasn't good enough. The paperwork has been completely tightened up now."

Mr Coleman said he was forced to employ foreign workers because of the lack of British workers applying for the jobs.

He said that keeping on top of his paperwork had become a "huge burden".

"One deviation and you're hammered by the Government," he added.

The Government is currently making a series of reforms to the UK's immigration system.

ID Cards for foreign nationals are being introduced which will help protect against identity fraud and illegal working.

The Australian-style points based system for managing migration is ensuring only those with the skills the UK needs are allowed to work.

Anyone who suspects that illegal workers are being employed at a business in Devon can contact the UK Border Agency on 01752 275161.

Alan Quick