British 'Booze Cruises' defended by MEP

12.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 8th Jun 2005

Members of the European Parliament today defended the right of British tourists to bring home cheap cigarettes and alcohol from their holidays in the EU.

Thousands of UK shoppers who have been accused of smuggling have had their goods and vehicles confiscated at UK ports. In some cases people have had their cars impounded and even crushed.

The European Parliament today adopted a report which proposes the scrapping of indicative limits on the amount of alcohol and cigarettes that can be brought into the UK and also reverses the burden of proof, so that customs officials will now have to prove goods are not for personal use.

Graham Watson MEP, said:

"Guidelines intended to differentiate between smugglers and shoppers have too often been treated as absolute requirements and have led in practice to shoppers being fined and having their purchases and vehicles confiscated."

"It has become a well known fact the UK authorities are the most stringent in the interpretation of these guidelines."

"Everyone understands the need to fight smuggling, but shoppers should not be put off buying goods in the EU because government policy leads to shoppers being unfairly treated by heavy-handed customs officials."