8/ You can watch the full documentary on BBC iPlayer here: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

7/ One victim said these crimes are devastating: “We’re not sleeping… one hit like this and you’re out of business.” That’s why we need a new crime code, more investment in security, and a national strategy, so we can put these shameless criminals behind bars where they belong.

6/ Police warn freight crime is becoming “more sophisticated, more organised.” Gangs slash truck curtains, raid depots, and steal entire trailers. Industry leaders say the sector is “under attack,” and rising theft will ultimately hit consumers’ wallets.

5/ The BBC uncovered a network of haulage firms purchased using the identity of a Romanian driver who had died months earlier. The deals were done by a man known as “Benny”, later identified as a completely different man, seen posing with a £150k Lamborghini on social media.

4/ One Midlands transport firm was tricked after hiring what looked like a genuine subcontractor. The lorry arrived, was loaded with £75k of goods… and vanished. Fake plates, disconnected numbers, no trace – just one example of how bold these criminals have become.

3/ As the documentary shows, criminal gangs are infiltrating the UK haulage industry by buying up transport firms – even using a dead man’s identity – to pose as legitimate truckers and steal goods by the lorryload. Freight theft has soared to £111m in the last year.

2/ 20% of my constituents work in freight, and the BBC have shone a light on what hauliers have been telling me for months: that hardcore organised criminality is undermining this essential industry and costing businesses and consumers millions.

I wish Cllr Finch well as Leader, but I remain deeply sceptical that he has the experience needed to deliver change for my constituents.

I have met Cllr Finch and know him to be a charismatic and ambitious young man, but my constituents need someone with a proven track record to fix our potholed roads, special education services, and social care system.

The fact that even the Conservatives refused to back Reform's choice for leader demonstrates the level of disquiet about this inappropriate appointment.