It was widely reported this month that several train companies have unlawfully prosecuted individuals by misusing the Single Justice Procedure, and up to 75 000 convictions for fare evasion offences have now been quashed. This is shocking news and could have enormous consequences for the train companies involved, especially given that bills could, in theory, run into tens of millions of pounds.
The news is already being talked about in the same breath as the Post Office scandal, although there are several reasons why this is an unfair comparison.
In the judgement on August 15, Senior District Judge Goldspring formally declared that the prosecutions in question are a ‘nullity’, and that ‘it is as though the proceedings never existed’.