A Cambridgeshire-based gangmaster who supplied labour in Lincolnshire has been sentenced and fined for operating as a gangmaster without a licence, but his customers escaped without punishment.

Ian Cooper, who at the time of the offence was running the high street agency Swift Recruitment (Eastern) Limited Ltd, based in Wisbech, was sentenced to pay a fine of £300 at Peterborough Magistrates Court on 15 April.

Cooper, who had previously held a licence issued by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), did not renew his licence in May 2009. He was found to be still supplying workers to the horticultural industry in Boston and Spalding in Lincolnshire on 28 July, 2009.

Two horticultural companies were cautioned and sent a strong warning for using unlicensed labour, but the decision was taken not to prosecute them.

If they are found to be using an unlicensed gangmaster again, there would be an increased likelihood of prosecution, according to a GLA statement.

GLA chairman Paul Whitehouse said: “Mr Cooper was aware he was trading without a licence, and continued to do so. The GLA note all businesses that have not renewed their licence and never assume they have simply stopped trading or stopped trading in our regulated sectors.

“While it may have not been in the public interest to prosecute the horticultural businesses this time, we have already prosecuted one farmer for using unlicensed labour and would not hesitate to do so again in the right circumstances.”

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