Rachel Taylor, Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, has welcomed the broadcast of a major BBC documentary which shines a light on the impact of serious organised freight crime in the Midlands.
Last year, Taylor launched a campaign to tackle the issue, including the tabling of a Bill in parliament calling on the government to introduce a new crime code for the offence.
The MP is also calling for a national strategy to tackle freight crime, and for more money to be given to the police so they can protect hauliers.
The BBC documentary Lorry Crime Exposed aired on BBC Midlands this week and is available on BBC iPlayer.
It reveals the scale and sophistication of freight criminality, including highlighting a case where criminals bought up a transport firm using a dead man’s identity to pose as legitimate truckers – before making off with £75,000 worth of goods.
Speaking on BBC Midlands Today this week, Rachel Taylor MP said that a fifth of workers in North Warwickshire and Bedworth work in the freight and logistics sector.
She said there wasn’t a single local haulage business who hadn’t been impacted by this sort of crime that was costing businesses thousands and damaging staff morale.
She also said the problem was one affecting all of us, with the £111m annual cost to the industry of freight crime being passed on to consumers through higher prices in shops.
“Last year I launched my campaign to tackle freight crime by tabling a new bill in parliament, so it’s brilliant to see BBC Midlands highlighting this major issue in a new documentary.
“Twenty percent of my constituents work in freight, and the BBC have shone a light on what hauliers in North Warwickshire and Bedworth have been telling me for months: that hardcore organised crime is undermining this essential industry and costing businesses and consumers millions.
“That’s why I’m campaigning for a new crime code for freight crime, more investment in security at truck stops, and a national policing strategy to deal with the issue, so we can put these shameless criminals behind bars where they belong,” Taylor said.
