BRITAIN: A British MP has called on the government to ensure police enforce the law equally when it comes to Travellers and gypsies.
Tory Andrew Robathan argued yesterday that despite a long-standing principle in Britain of equality before the law, these groups were not prosecuted for offences for which people in settled communities would be.
Police regularly failed to take action on trespass, illegal caravans, road-tax violations and theft, while applications for retrospective planning permission were allowed, he said, as he introduced his Equal Enforcement of the Law Bill.
"If people wish to live in caravans and travel about the country, that is entirely their own affair," he said. "I do not believe in prescribing how people lead their lives, just as long as they do not impinge unreasonably on the lives of others."
Mr Robathan said police rarely stopped Travellers' caravans, even though some were too long to be legally towed by anything other than a full-size commercial vehicle and others were wider than the maximum 7ft 5in. About a fifth of UK sales of new caravans were stolen and not recovered, he said.
"It is also interesting how many brand-new vehicles tend to be pulling these vans and it might be pertinent for the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise to be making inquiries about taxation and VAT."
He proposed that councils should be allowed to refuse applications for retrospective planning permission by Travellers or rogue developers who were "cynically manipulating the planning system, often advised by disreputable lawyers". Caravans would be rapidly removed where planning permission did not exist and Travellers who tried to profit from illegal developments would face large fines or have their assets confiscated. He also called for a review of the Human Rights Act, which was "used by smart, slick lawyers to drive a coach and horses through the laws".