ON April 9, Steven Thoburn was found guilty in a British court of weighing his customers' orders on Imperial scales, in other words for using the nation's traditional weights and measures system, used and understood by the majority of the British population. Steven Thoburn now has a criminal record for selling a pound of bananas!

Judge Morgan's judgement clearly stated that "in passing the 1972 European Communities Act, Parliament surrendered its sovereignty to the European Union".

This statement highlighted how we as a nation have been lied to and deceived by our elected representatives over the past 30 years.

Steven Thoburn and four other "Metric Martyrs" are to mount a legal challenge to this decision, to be heard in the Court of Appeal in London in the week beginning November 19.

In each case there was a conditional discharge and an order for costs, showing that the Establishment is uneasy with this "bad law" but is using the threat of costs to make the traders back dow, perhaps explaining why only small traders, and not big organisations or supermarkets, have been targeted. Not for hundreds of years has a court case had such enormous constitutional implications for this country. Compulsory metrication was carried out by stealth and was never debated before Parliament, nor voted on by our 659 elected representatives. A 21-minute committee meeting by 14 MPs on a select committee is not the way to remove a system of measurement that is part of our everyday lives.

The impending court case will highlight, with crystal clarity, just how much of our Parliament's authority and power has been ceded to a foreign power, the European Union.

Our appeal must not be allowed to fail because of lack of funds. The prosecution has as much money as is required from the public purse. The defence has had to rely on the generosity of the British people, and we are eternally grateful for the support we have received to get us this far.

You can support the appeal by sending a cheque payable to: Metric Martyrs Defence Fund, at PO Box 526, Sunderland SR1 3YS, or by credit card on-line at: www.metricmartyrs.com or order a collection box for your local pub, club, shop, or office via 0191 565 7143.

NEIL HERRON,

Metric Martyrs Defence Fund.