DAILY TELEGRAPH

17 January 2001

Case of Metric Martyr
'Echoes Trial of Witches'

By David Graves

The trial of a greengrocer for refusing to sell goods in metric measurements was the "most controversial" prosecution in England since the 17th century Witchcraft Act enabled suspected witches to be hung or burned at the stake, his lawyer said yesterday.

Michael Shrimpton, a constitutional barrister representing Steven Thoburn, 36, said it was the first time in 300 years that an innocent person had been brought before a court to face such a discredited law. 

In a long speech to Sunderland magistrates' court, he traced the constitutional background of the case against Mr Thoburn, a fruit and vegetable trader accused of refusing to sell goods in metric measurements, and argued that it was illegal and should be dismissed. 

On Monday, Mr Thoburn became the first trader in England to go on trial in a test case that could affect tens of thousands of shopkeepers. The case could ultimately reach the House of Lords, such is its constitutional importance. 

Mr Shrimpton said the European Commission was determined to introduce compulsory metrication to Britain, whereas British governments had traditionally allowed a freedom of choice and a dual system of metric and imperial measurements. 

The law introducing compulsory metrication for loose goods, such as fruit and vegetables, was changed in 1994 when Earl Ferrers, a Tory minister at the Department of Trade and Industry, signed regulations allowing a European directive into British law. A five-year period was allowed until Dec 31, 1999 to enable traders to change their scales but after that it became illegal to sell loose goods in pounds and ounces. 

Mr Thoburn denies two charges of using unmetricated scales and could be fined up to £2,000 or face jail. Mr Shrimpton said that when Britain entered the Common Market in 1972 Parliament was assured that ministerial powers would not be used to bring in changes of "a small, minor or insignificant nature". 

He said: "No one in this court would realistically or sensibly suggest that the sweeping away of our imperial weights and measures was a change of a small, minor or insignificant nature." 

The barrister argued that the Weights and Measures Act 1985 had specifically allowed dual trading in metric and imperial measurements and, because it was an Act of Parliament, it superseded the European directive and subsequent Units of Measurement Regulations 1994, which had been introduced by Earl Ferrers. 

He said there was "no reason" why metric and imperial measurements could not be used side by side. "For 136 years, the policy of Britain has been freedom of choice."

Mr Shrimpton quoted from 18th and 19th century authorities on Britain's constitution, Sir William Blackstone and Prof Albert Dicey, to argue that ministers or the European Union had no power to override an Act of Parliament. As such, any conviction of Mr Thoburn would be "unconstitutional".

Eleanor Sharpston, QC, prosecuting, argued that under the European Communities Act 1972, under which Britain entered the European Union, Earl Ferrers was entitled to introduce the new regulations. She said: "This case is not about imposing the will of Brussels by bypassing Parliament, because Parliament had already given a responsible minister powers to do what he has done." 

She is also relying on the so-called "Henry VIII powers", under which a minister can rule by proclamation within reason. 

The case continues. 

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