THE agency that issues permits to cocklers on parts of Morecambe Bay has denied knowing Chinese workers who died in the tragedy were working illegally and chose not to revoke their permits.

Under cross-examination at Preston Crown Court, the deputy chief executive of the North West and North Wales Sea Fisheries Committee, Martyn Boyce, denied knowing that the cocklers were illegal immigrants.

John Bromley-Davenport QC, representing Lin Liang Ren, told the court that the Department for Work and Pensions had allegedly told the NWNWSFC that at least 30 per cent of the cockle permits were from people who were claiming benefits and that 100 per cent of the national insurance numbers submitted were bogus.

"I was aware some information was coming through but not aware of the detail," said Mr Boyce.

After admitting the NWNWSFC did have difficulties verifying certain information, Mr Boyce said had he known the national insurance numbers for the Chinese were false he would have revoked all the permits.

The jury was told that just over a week before the tragedy of February 2004, when 21 cockle pickers lost their lives in Morecambe Bay, Mr Boyce had visited the beach and thrown two people off because they did not have permits.

The court heard that the point of the permit system was to illicit information such as whether people were entitled to work in this country and their place of residence. If there were any doubts about the application the fisheries would seek further clarification.

When asked if the fisheries could have established a system, which required some sort of certification, Mr Boyce said "we could have done".

"It was a new system to us and we just had not thought of doing it in that way we were following the practices of one or two other committees in the country," he continued.

"If we had been able to verify to the standard we can now I don't believe any of them (permits to the Chinese) would have been issued," said Mr Boyce.

He rejected the suggestion that allowing totally inexperienced people on to the sands in large numbers was "asking for trouble". Although safety was one of his personal concerns the fisheries had no power to control any activity on health and safety grounds.

Some documents relating to ecology were issued to permit holders but nothing on matters of safety on the beach. That policy has since been altered.

He said the difficulty about giving information about the dangers of the bay was that the beaches varied so much.

When Mr Boyce visited the beach in January, he said on that day the man who he thought was "running the group" was Lin Shui a man who was killed in the tragedy, the jury was told.

Six of the people who died had permits and the remaining 15 did not. The court was told the purpose of establishing the permit system was to discourage people from cockling on Warton Sands but the media coverage had brought more cocklers to the area.

The jury also heard a claim that the immigration service turned a blind eye to the Chinese cockle pickers working illegally before the disaster. Asked if that was the case, Mr Boyce said: "I presume so, yes."

Lin Liang Ren, 29, from Liverpool, denies 21 counts of manslaughter. He also denies perverting the course of justice and facilitation. His 20-year-old girlfriend at the time, Zhao Xiao Qing, denies perverting the course of justice and facilitation. Ren's cousin Lin Mu Yong, 31, also from Liverpool, denies facilitation.

Father and son David Eden, 61, and David Eden (known as Tony), 33, both from Merseyside, the owners of Liverpool Bay Fishing company, also deny a charge of facilitation.