an update on the BBC licence fee business; there are letters about that Guardian article published in the same paper today. This one caught my eye
"Zoe Williams’s article was shocking – the prosecutions appear to be a bit of a moneymaking machine for the BBC. However, it should be pointed out that the
single justice procedure (SJP) is only used for those who plead guilty or those who do not respond to the initial notice within 21 days. If the person receiving the notice pleads not guilty, their case will be transferred out of the SJP process, and listed for an in-person court hearing with a prosecutor and, if the defendant so wishes, a defence lawyer. One assumes that those being prosecuted are told this.
Dr Dolf A Mogendorff"
That's a huge assumption. One of the things that has become obvious from the Post Office scandal is that their prosecutors did/do NOT follow the rules of evidence that they are supposed to and that the police have to follow. One judge described a PO prosecutor as behaving like a 1970s TV cop.
Then there's the issue of the PO actually delivering letters, so that people have opportunity to reply in 21 days. It appears they've been prioritising parcels for sometime, and sometimes don't bother to deliver letters for weeks at a time - including letters for hospital appointments and operations. All the while putting up the cost of posting a letter by far, far more than inflation.