Jan 21

10:59
Posted by Richard Durham
Comments (9)

Customs exorcised

Spare a thought for the unarmed Waterguard

There's been a lot of heat lately and not too much light over the methods used by HM Customs & Excise/UKBA officers boarding yachts at sea. So much heat in fact that the RYA's legal supremo Gus Lewis called for a meeting with immigration ministers to express yachtsman's concerns over the 'intimidating manner' in which they have received the Waterguard at sea.

Mr Lewis was invited aboard a UKBA cutter and spent a day in the Solent watching the teams board yachts. He was also told how Customs man Alastair Soutar, 47, lost his life while carrying out his job. The unfortunate officer was part of a team shadowing a large ketch from the North Atlantic around the top of Scotalnd and into the North Sea. The yacht was packed to the gunnels with cannabis and once the smugglers realised they were not alone they stashed the drugs into a lifeboat and booby-trapped it with a fire bomb.

As the Customs men boarded the lifeboat the incendiary device exploded setting the stash on fire. Mr Soutar leapt from the blazing deck in a bid to get back aboard the cutter but unfortunately fell between both hulls and was crushed to death. Three men were later convicted of smuggling - and one of manslaughter - and jailed.

Although this was all back in 1996, it has left a long shadow over the men who protect our waters from gangsters and their leg men. Mr Lewis was suitably impressed with what the men on the cutters have to face especially in light of the fact that they are not armed. The impressive-looking gun mounted on the bow of the UKBA cutters is in fact a fire hose posing as a cannon.

I have been boarded several times by Customs man over the years and once had a rummage crew go through the boat with a fine tooth comb. I was not injured nor was the boat damaged. It might have ruffled my sensibilities a little, but all in all I welcome these guys aboard. We need to remember that of the 35 to 45 tonnes of drugs these cutters stop each year, 80 per cent comes in on...yachts.

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January 21 11:59

Stewart Dickinson

A good "boys own" story. However, the concern is not about Customs detaining criminals, but RANDOM boardings. Two questions. First what proportion of the Overall drugs haul is from yachts. Second and most important what proportion of drugs are found as a result of random boarders rather than as in this caseprior knowledge that drugs were on the yacht?

January 21 12:50

Tim Bartlett

So one fatality, fourteen years ago, gives them the right to treat us all as criminals, does it?
Right, so the fact that police officers shot and killed an unarmed civilian on a tube station four years ago must give us the right to treat all police officers as murderers. And the fact that the Child Support Agency is directly responsible for countless suicides must give us the right to treat all civil servants as callous, uncaring individuals who are solely motivated by greed.
Or could we just say that one fatality in thirteen years actually makes working for HMRC one of the cushiest jobs around, and dismiss this as a yet another piece of government spin intended solely to justify its descent towards a police state?

January 21 19:58

Mr Payne

Several comments on this Blog. 1) It reads like PR spin, not an informative observation of our boarder customs activities. 2) Leaves me wondering how out in-touch the RYA are with their members? 3)Mr Lewis seems very easily won over! 4) No incident, no matter how grave is an excuse for poor treatment of the general public, as the blog implies. 5) Whilst the author admits to being boarded a number of times, why was this? As a means to meet a quota of boardings or as part of a true intelligence lead operation?

January 22 09:06

rallyveteran

...but whatis the proportion of seizures from yachts that is intelligence lead, and what proportion is random? Unless this question is tackled the attempts at whitewash (as in this blog) are a waste of time.

January 28 12:55

Roger Terry

I completely disagree. What is the cost of these ships? How much contraband has been seized as a result of RANDOM searches? My guess is practically zero, most "busts" follow intelligence reports. Random searches are completely unnecessary, apart from as an intimidatory deterant, and a pretty costly one at that.

January 31 20:41

Phil Webb

I agree with Mr Payne,this sounds more like PR than unbiased reporting. One reason I am not an RYA member is that they seem to
spend a lot of their time being cosy with the establishment rather than
representing the views of
the average yottie.

March 09 09:13

martin gledhill

I agree with all the comments against the UK Border agency.I have been boarded, and it was a scary experience, they even had the cheek as they left to say" if you see any suspicious yachts let us know". I think they killed any chance of that by the way they boarded us.

March 19 22:16

lady campanula

I'm alert to the 'challenging' part of their job, and I'm also aware that - when the adrenalin is running - some people in uniform swiftly forget that other people have rights, too.

I cannot see why the UKBA people will not adopt a policy of straightforward courtesy to all they encounter in their work - until and unless discovery demands otherwise. Courtesy does not impede the task.

All constables learn that.Our soldiers manage that. There is no excuse for anything less from the UKBA.

July 05 23:05

Dick Smith

Dick
I think you miss the point totally - I have also had "Customs" aboard over my 50 years sailing and have welcomed them on each occasion for all the reasons you give but on each occasion there was a request to board - not some storm trooper attitude all revved up like Rambo arriving in a black RIB in the black of night storming aboard without so much as an excuse me - going below and swabbing for drugs and explosives whilst one stays atop in case of a booby trap - and this is all because on an incident in 1996 - well I am sorry that does not hold water this is part of the Blair / Brown control freak mentality - why if the RYA are making representation are you not supposrting it? I have raised the issue on the Governments new Freedom web site and I would ask all who read this to go there and vote - there is a link to the RYA detail on this issue and it far from a nice demonstration jolly in the Solent. I have had high praise and give a lifetimes cooperation to the Marine Police and "Customs" but the actions of todays incarnation is very detrimental to that goodwill factor that is reflected by so many of the UK boating fraternity. Please go to http://yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk/restoring-civil-liberties/stop-ukba-boarding-vessels-at-sea-in-an-intimidating-manner
and view the RYA detail (and vote) to get a more balanced view.

Dick Durham's Sailing Blog

Dick Durham is an East Coast sailor of the old school, his blog is witty and wistful, full of surprises and can be as cutting as a fresh nor' easterly