I can�t comment on the particular case, because there are manslaughter charges outstanding, but the problem of gang masters has been growing in recent years.
Many are completely above board and use legal workers, but some are not so scrupulous and exploit illegal migrants to drive down pay and conditions.
The fact is, there are more and more jobs that we Brits are not prepared to do. With unemployment virtually nil in many parts of the country, many of the less pleasant jobs and seasonal work would not get done without immigrant labour.
Cornwall�s daffodils would not be picked and Westcountry meat would not be slaughtered if we relied solely on the local workforce.
Which brings me to the hysteria about the enlargement of the EU and talk of an impending �tidal wave� of economic migrants from central and eastern Europe.
There may be some people from countries like Poland who come here to work. The same happened when Portugal and Spain joined the EU. But it was not the mass invasion that many had predicted. Within a few years there were more people going to Spain and Portugal, than leaving, as their economies improved.
If we had mass unemployment, like ten years ago, or like Germany and France still do, then I could see the argument for delaying freedom of movement. But our economy�s main problems are skills and labour shortages, particularly in the less well paid service sectors.
Measures need to be in place to ensure people don�t come and benefit from our social security system. But if a few young Poles want to come and do the work Brits won�t or can�t do, good luck to them!
As they�ll be legal they won�t be prey to unscrupulous gang masters. And, as with all the other waves of European migrant labour, the vast majority will want to return home.
