Many asylum-seekers are fleeing the risk of imprisonment, torture or death and are forced to take desperate steps to reach safety. The discovery of 54 men and four Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights packed into an airtight container may be an example of how desperate those steps can be and of how very difficult it can be for asylum-seekers to reach Britain.

'Rather than ensuring that Britain has an efficient asylum system which quickly and fairly identifies those with a well-founded fear of persecution, successive governments have focused on stopping asylum-seekers reaching Britain,' added Mark Lattimer.

Many refugees are unable to gain legal entry to the UK because the Government has introduced visa requirements for some countries and has introduced legislation punishing carriers – thus forcing asylum seekers into the hands of illegal traffickers.