Mr Peter Collins This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. BRITISHWEIGHTS AND MEASURES ASSOCIATION

   www.footrule.org/Martyr4.htm - [Cached]

   Published on: 12/12/2000   Last Visited: 8/4/2003

   Peter Collins
   ...
   Peter Collins is a street trader in the London Borough of Sutton. He is a popular figure who has never been in trouble.
   
   However, he has committed the cardinal sin of refusing to comply with the "compulsory" metrication regulations.
   
   pounds pints ounces miles imperial British Weights and Measures The way in which his local borough has handled his situation is quite beyond belief. Rather than face a head-on court case based on non-compliance with metrication (a case which they well know they are likely to lose) the unsubtle and un-civil servants of Sutton have opted instead to take away Mr Collins' living.
   
   Peter Collins
   ...
   On 20 March 2000 Mr Collins received a letter from the grandly (but rather oddly) titled Head of Health and Trading Standards, Mr Tony Northcott.
   ...
   For the only way Mr Collins can get back his licence - and therefore his living - is to APPEAL against the council. This is a civil and not a criminal matter.
   
   In other words Mr Collins is presumed guilty unless he can prove his innocence!
   
   This matter is now so urgent that it could be heard in the local magistrates' courts at very short notice. As Mr Collins has no resources he might not be able to fight the matter without help from BWMA and that requires funds. Without resources the case may go by default. Mr Collins has no resources because the very people he wants to appeal against have taken away his livelihood!
   ...
   After the ruling, Mr Collins, who has traded from the stall in Sutton High Street for 15 years, said that it was "very probable" that he would appeal. He said: "It's not the local council I'm fighting, it's Brussels. The outcome of this case says that we do not make the law and if we do not abide by Brussels' rules then woe betide you. "This ruling is effectively saying that I should teach the public the metric system and I do not see why I should do that. "If my customers ask me for my goods in kilos I will serve them in kilos but they will be disappointed because they are being forced to change their way of life." He had claimed that his largely working-class customers were not confident in kilos, but the court ruled that there had been no evidence of an "underlying demand" for an imperial system. Trading standards officers had warned Mr Collins that he had to sell and advertise his produce in kilos or face losing his licence. The warning came after undercover officers bought a bunch of grapes from him in imperial weights. Tony Northcott, head of health and trading standards at Sutton Council, said that they did not want to drive Mr Collins out of business but they had to enforce the law. He said: "The last thing that the council wants to do is to put him out of business. We have been advising him and if he does not comply we will have to consider what action to take. "What we really want is for Mr Collins to comply with the law. We want him to get on with his business so that we can get on with ours."

2. 2. Metrication

   www.metricsucks.org/archive/eu - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/11/1999   Last Visited: 7/6/2007

   Peter Collins, 51, is likely to join forces with Steven Thoburn, the Sunderland greengrocer who last month became the first trader in Britain to be convicted for refusing to sell goods in metric measurements, to take his case to the House of Lords.
   ...
   Quentin Richards, his barrister, told a pre-trial hearing yesterday that Mr Collins would invoke his right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the convention to advertise and sell his produce in imperial weights.
   ...
   Mr Collins, who trades from a stall in Sutton High Street, said he was warned by trading standards officers from Sutton Council last year that they would refuse to renew his trading licence unless he replaced his imperial scales with a metric substitute, which could cost £500. The warning was issued after an undercover trading standards officer bought a bunch of grapes from Mr Collins in imperial weights. A licence to continue trading was subsequently issued, but only on condition that Mr Collins agreed to comply with compulsory metrication. The trader said he had received "overwhelming support" from his customers, who always asked for produce in imperial weights. (Daily Telegraph 11 May 2001)
   
   So nervous are Millbank spin doctors that the election campaign might throw up embarrassing trick questions after the Sunderland "metric martryr" case that Labour ministers have been briefed with their height and weight in metres and kilograms. (Sunday Telegraph 6/5/01)
   
   But a court case this week in Sutton, Surrey, will give the metrication battle a new twist. Sutton council wants to suspend the license of Peter Collins, a local market trader, because he cannot afford a set of metric scales and wants to go on selling apples and bananas in pounds and ounces.
   ...
   The Imperial ones will return the moment Steve Thoburn - or Peter Collins (Sutton) - wins their cases. (UKIP alert 29/11/00)
   ...
   Peter Collins is a street trader in the London Borough of Sutton. He is a popular figure who has never been in trouble. However, he has committed the cardinal sin of refusing to comply with the "compulsory" metrication regulations. The way in which his local borough has handled his situation is quite beyond belief. Rather than face a head-on court case based on non-compliance with metrication (a case which they well know they are likely to lose) the unsubtle and un-civil servants of Sutton have opted instead to take away Mr Collins' living. On 20 March 2000 Mr Collins received a letter from the grandly titled Head of Health and Trading Standards, Mr Tony Northcott.