Advice for law breakers

Garth George has some good advice for law breakers, in line with the Police’s ridicolous list of reasons for why Labour will not be prosecuted for electoral over-spending.

Noting Labour was given a warning rather than prosecuted because a number of other parties had also used similar tactics and it would have been unfair to single Labour out, he advises the next time you get stopped for speeding you insist on being given a warning, on the grounds that a lot of other people are speeding and it would be unfair to single you out.

And then the next Police excuse was that the offending resulted from a general misunderstanding of the electoral rules so again if you break the law – then simply claim the law was unclear and youy misunderstood it.

Finally if found to be breaking the law, and noting the final Police excuse was that there was no evidence Labour’s over-spending was intentional, insist that there is no evidence you were deliberately speeding or breaking the law etc.

Garth George has set out very clearly how the excuses the Police made not to prosecute Labour are ones they would never ever accept from from anyone else in society.

And as I set out last week, the reasons given in their release on the issue dsiplay such a total ignorance of the law they are meant to enforce, that incompetence is the kindest word I can think of. To recap:

* They found a prima facie case for lack of authorisation on the pledge cards but not for over-spending, despite the two offences effectively having an identical definition.

* They justified no charges on over-spending due to a lack of intent, over looking that the offence is one of strict liability where intent is not a factor. Intent only affects whether the charge is of an illegal practice or a corrupt practice.