August 03, 2003

More Euro-Rights

A beggar in Nottingham has been given £5000 of taxpayer money. It's not for food or shelter or clothing. In fact, she won't be getting the money at all. It will go directly to her lawyer. She's been given legal aid to sue Nottingham City Council.

Margaret Edlin is suing under the human rights act. The City Council has imposed an injunction on her in a crackdown on persistent and aggressive beggars. Begging is illegal in the UK. She has been convicted of begging 18 times in the last 18 months. She believes the human rights act gives her the right to beg anywhere she wants to.

It seems odd that she is suing the City of Nottingham for preventing her from breaking the law, at least within its precincts. After all, the City Council doesn't make the laws, nor does it enforce them.

You may think this is a bit far-fetched. After all, a greengrocer in South London tried to use a clause in the act granting the right to “impart information without interference by public authority”. He wanted to sell his produce in pounds and ounces that his customers understand rather than the grams imposed by Brussels. He was unsuccessful.

However, last year it was found that prisoners have the right to possess pornography. This seems to fall under the the right to receive information enshired in the act. Everyone has the right to the "information" provided by porn, but not the information provided by weighing scales.

So don't be surprised if Margaret Edlin wins the right to break the law wherever she pleases.

Posted by david at August 3, 2003 05:04 PM | TrackBack
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