Justice seen to be done

Nick Hogan, the landlord of the the Swan with Two Necks, in Chorley, Manchester, has just spent a short spell in jail, for not paying - not being able to pay - the fine and prosecution costs from a recent court case.

And why was he in court? Because he had failed to do the State's bidding. He had failed to act as an unpaid policeman; failed to report his own customers for smoking, even when he was not on the premises to witness them to doing so. He was charged that he had failed to prevent two customers from smoking on his premises.

That, folks, is a crime in NuLab's Britain. For fuck's sake.

Top blog lady Anna Raccoon was among the many incensed by this injustice, and began an online campaign.

As Anna R. says, he was..

"..jailed as an example to us all, that when the State barks ‘jump’ you only question ‘how high’. He didn't. He said ‘Why’?

The State made him pay a high price for his temerity; they harassed him, hounded him, bankrupted him, and finally forcibly removed him from his family and friends and jailed him for six months".

Outrage - in this case, righteous outrage - spreads quickly in the Blogosphere. Many wanted to help, so Anna, with help of fellow blogger Old Holborn, set out to raise the funds necessary to free Nick. She was impressed:

"Four days after my story first appeared, Old Holborn’s Paypal account held in excess of £9,700 in assorted currencies. We had to ask people to stop sending money."

The money was delivered in style - and in cash - by Old Holborn, and Nick is now back at home.

Over to Anna to sum up:

"The fact that so many of you responded is a powerful message from the voting public that politicians would be well advised to heed.  The Blogosphere will not be controlled by politicians, bound up in regulations, throttled by impenetrable legislation. It is not a single target that a ‘D’ notice can be fired at. We are not beholden to advertisers.

“We are the authentic, unfiltered, voice of your electorate”.

Justice done. Well done.
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