Home Office issues apology and pays damages to contractor working on Shotton Mill

A company involved in the redevelopment of the former UPM Shotton paper mill has been cleared of any wrongdoing following a raid by Immigration Enforcement officers earlier this year.

On 26 March, the Home Office issued a press release alleging that FP McCann, a Northern Irish concrete supplier, had been fined up to £225,000 for illegally employing five contractors on the site.

The release followed an early morning raid at the Shotton Mill site in Deeside on 19 March, during which 13 individuals were arrested on suspicion of immigration offences.

However, the Home Office has now admitted that the information it released was incorrect and defamatory.

In a statement, the department said: “The Home Office accepts that FP McCann’s contractors were lawfully entitled to work at the site in North Wales. FP McCann has therefore not been fined by the Home Office.”

The government has formally apologised to FP McCann and its directors, and has agreed to pay “substantial damages” as well as covering the company’s reasonable legal costs.

FP McCann said it had fully co-operated with the Home Office during the inquiry and provided evidence to confirm that all its employees were authorised to work in the UK.

At the time a spokesperson for the company said: “Following a detailed inquiry into a number of workers on site, it has been quickly established that all FP McCann Limited employees were suitably qualified to work in the UK.”

The company said the “no action notice” issued on 11 April confirmed that it was not liable for a civil penalty under section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

The earlier Home Office press release had been picked up by national and regional news outlets, incorrectly suggesting the company had already been fined.

On 28 March, the Home Office issued a clarification email to the press, saying the firm had merely been referred for possible civil penalties.