Fish workers to be deported

The company said it employed the workers in good faith

More than 20 eastern europeans suspected of working illegally in the Borders have been told they will be deported from the UK.

A total of 48 people were detained in a raid on a caravan park in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland.

The men and women from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Poland and the Ukraine had been living in Berwick and were working at a fish factory in Duns.

The suspects were taken to Newcastle

They were taken to Etal Lane police station in Newcastle for questioning after being arrested in a joint operation by police and the Immigration Service on Tuesday.

Six interpreters had to be brought in so that they could be interviewed.

Twenty-one of those arrested have now been told that they will have to leave the country and have been transferred to Doncaster Police Station.

The remaining 27 have been released and are believed to have returned to work at Farne Salmon and Trout.

Extra demand

It was established that eight of the workers were in the country with proper authority, while 19 are still under investigation.

The fish factory said it had employed the workers in good faith. They were among 300 extra staff taken on to meet increased Christmas demand.

The workers had been brought to the country by Cambridge-based Ultimate Source agency.

A spokesman for Ultimate Source said on Tuesday that he had documents which proved the workers were asylum seekers who have been in the UK for six months and were entitled to be working.

It was reported in October that, despite recent job losses in the Borders, Farne Salmon and Trout was unable to fill half of its 400 temporary posts.