"Three small-boat fishermen around the Thames estuary have been punished by a judge as if they were international criminals. They had caught 19 tons of sole for which they did not have EU quota - even though, under the rules, they should have been allocated a share in 346 tons of quota which remained unused.Judge Neil McKittrick imposed fines and costs on the three men totalling £104,000. In addition, at the instigation of the Marine and Fisheries Agency, he levied confiscation orders on their assets totalling £213,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act, originally designed to recover the illegal profits of drug dealers!
If the men cannot pay within six months, they face two years in prison, even though this is far more than they can raise without selling their homes and their boats - none of them the "proceeds of crime".
OKAY. Brutal sentencing. So just imagine what this judge will do to REAL criminals, eh? - Er. Yes.
Judge McKittrick's shows severity in this case and seeming leniency in a string of others - as when a paedophile and a sub-postmaster who had stolen £15,000 were given only suspended sentences, while a thug who had seriously injured a 76-year old pensioner was sent to prison for only six months.
JUSTICE? - But you see, the fishermen had upset the European Union - and that just cannot be! Foul crimes against people and society are a much more trivial matter. AND note how the law is abused to get the required result. Well done to the excellent Chris Booker for exposing this appalling miscarriage of justice in The Sunday Telegraph.
Still these men could perhaps appeal to the European Court - Oh well. Perhaps not!
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