Thursday 2 October 2008

There goes another £600 million...



SPEED CAMERAS are unlawful because they have not been properly approved by Parliament, a legal campaigner said as he announced plans to challenge their use in the High Court.

Robbie the Pict (pictured above), a community lawyer from the Isle of Skye, also says cameras that trap motorists if they run a red light have been used unlawfully.

The 61-year-old, who successfully campaigned against a toll on a bridge linking the Isle of Skye to the mainland, says that since July 1992 the Government has not implemented traffic cameras through the correct legal process.

Currently the devices are signed off by the Home Secretary, but Robbie the Pict says the law states each different model of camera must be approved by statutory instrument, a technical term he describes as a mini Act of Parliament.

His case will be heard in the Scottish Court of Appeal in Edinburgh on Wednesday before he takes it to the High Court in London.

He says that if his challenge is successful, the Government could have to pay back an estimated £600 million in fines issued to motorists.

Robbie the Pict said: "The challenge is fundamental. Its point is that none of the cameras have been authorised according to statute since July 1991.

"Therefore when they (the police) say they have video evidence for a £60 fine and three points, the evidence they have is inadmissible in court."

He added: "I have decided to take it forward because I have seen so many people ripped off with these cameras and I know they are legally wrong."

Robbie the Pict decided to launch his case 18 months ago after he was caught by a red light camera in Nottingham.

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