LOST AT APPEAL
Page 24
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On 24 February my son Karl. Joe Cook and I lost our appeal against being allowed to protest peacefully on the highway. This appeal was against judgement made against us at Milton Keynes Magistrates' Court last yearn response to our rolling blockade on the MI on 12 April last year.
As fully paid up members of Trans-Action we have supported the campaign against this government's fuel tax policies. This support has been 110%; it has cost our small family business in the region of £12,000, an amount we could ill afford. We felt that the principles in favour of that action were well worth it. The fines and costs on behalf of me and my son were paid for by Trans-Action, along with the costs awarded against Joe Cook. To this date, Joe's fine has not been paid by TransAction. In one of your earlier editions Frank Steers said that all costs and fines had been paid in respect of all three of us. This is not true.
To get back to the failed appeal, costs were awarded against us and the total was 1300. We went to court to argue the case for all hauliers.
On 1November 2000 a new European law comes into play. If the case is argued for successfully in court then I believe British hauliers will get the right to peacefully protest in a national scale. Unfortunately, legal fees can be heavy. We have been to the magistrates' court and the crown court, so the first two hurdles have been overcome. The next stage is the Court of Appeal and then the Law Lords. If these two fail we can then go to the European Court of Human Rights, where the dogmatism shown by our Labour government should be overturned. To do this we need to raise the money to pay for it.
Trans-Action has a certain amount sitting in the bank doing nothing. I am sure that all those hauliers who joined TransAction would like to see this money used to fight for the right to protest peacefully. If we get this right, then perhaps, at long last, all governments will stop and listen to our concerns on fuel duty rates and VED now and in the future.
Would any of your readers for perhaps Trans-Action) be interested in setting up a fighting fund in order that we may pursue this appeal to Europe if necessary?
On a lighter note, I came to have possession of John Prescott's mobile phone number. I had hoped to speak to the man, but no such luck. His secretary said she would try to contact him to reply to my letters about the way his government is destroying the British haulage industry. A few minutes later I had a call to say that they would be changing the number! She also said the police would be interested in knowing howl got hold of it. "By word of mouth," was my reply.
I and most hauliers would be interested in the outcome of the talks held at the Haulage Forum last month. Could the RHA or the FTA not run a feature thereby informing all in the industry just what is happening? Tony Blair sent me a news bulletin about the last meeting: in my estimation it wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. Gary Donaldson, Finedon Bulk Haulage, Wellingborough, AlorthantS.