LORRY TRAGEDY Who is Mo Robinson? Essex lorry deaths suspect linked to people smuggling tragedy 6park.com
Guy Birchall
27 Oct 2019, 11:45Updated: 27 Oct 2019, 11:51 6park.com
THIRTY-nine migrants are feared to have frozen to death in their desperate bid to reach Britain after being found in the back of a lorry in Grays, Essex.
Here's everything we know about the driver of the truck, Mo Robinson.

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Police have charged Mo Robinson in connection with the Essex lorry deaths
Who is Mo Robinson?
Driver Maurice "Mo" Robinson, 25, has been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter.
Robinson has also been charged with conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering. 6park.com
The 25-year-old drove his lorry cab to pick up the trailer from the Purfleet port in Essex about half an hour before the grim discovery of 39 dead bodies at an industrial estate in nearby Grays on the morning of October 23, 2019.
Robinson, from Northern Ireland, was arrested in one of Britain's biggest-ever mass murder probes after Wednesday's grisly discovery.
Essex Police have confirmed he remains in custody.
He had picked up the trailer after it arrived from Zeebrugge, Belgium, at 12.30am on October 23. 6park.com
Robinson doesn't own the lorry, which was registered in Bulgaria in 2017 by an Irish company.
But he appears to make regular trips to Denmark and Sweden, which would mean driving through Britain.
Robinson's family, from County Armagh, told the Belfast Telegraph they hadn’t “heard from him” and “don’t know what is going on”.
But on Thursday, October 24, it was thought police had brought them over to England.
The 25-year-old is still being quizzed on suspicion of murder after he picked up the trailer from Purfleet in Essex.
Dad-to-be Robinson, from Northern Ireland, is said to have opened the container to get some paperwork and passed out when he made the grim discovery.
A pal said: "When he opened the container up and saw all the dead bodies, he was absolutely horrified - as anyone would be - and called the ambulance service who in turn alerted the police.
"I heard the container was refrigerated - the temperature was -25 degrees and the bodies were frozen and had been dead for some time."


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Forensic experts examine the lorry discovered in EssexCredit: PA:Press Association
What happened in the tragedy?
The lorry packed with 39 dead Chinese migrants crossed the Channel twice before arriving in Essex - sparking fears more people were smuggled.
Tracking data has revealed the container visited migrant hotspots Calais and Dunkirk in the week leading up to the tragedy.
The grisly discovery is one of Britain's biggest-ever mass murder probes after the bodies were found on an industrial estate in Grays on Wednesday, October 23.
There are now fears more migrants may have been smuggled through Europe in the days leading up to the horror, The Times reveals.
New data has shown the GPS tracker on the trailer was switched on at 3.06pm on October 15 after travelling from Dublin to Monaghan, near the border with Northern Ireland.
It then stopped at Warwickshire and Kent before crossing the Channel to Belgium, and making its way on to Calais and Dunkirk.
From here, it went back to the UK via Belgium and then repeated the journey before the victims made the perilous 173-mile journey in the refrigerated container to Purfleet.
The container's movements will heighten fears ruthless "Snakehead" Chinese gangs are using ports in Europe to smuggle migrants into the UK.
What has been the reaction to the tragedy?
Local Tory MP Jackie Doyle-Price suggested people smugglers may be to blame for the tragedy - although police have refused to confirm this.
She tweeted: "People trafficking is a vile and dangerous business. This is a big investigation for @EssexPoliceUK
"Let’s hope they bring these murderers to justice".
She later said in the Commons "putting 39 people into a locked metal container shows a contempt for human life that is evil".


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Chief Superintendent Andrew Mariner said: "This is a tragic incident where a large number of people have lost their lives. Our enquiries are ongoing to establish what has happened."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he is "appalled by the tragic incident".
He said: "I am receiving regular updates and the Home Office will work closely with Essex Police as we establish exactly what has happened.
"My thoughts are with all those who lost their lives & their loved ones.” 6park.com