Criminal

Prosecution of offences - driving without insurance - local authority having power to prosecuteMiddlesbrough Borough Council v Safeer; Same v Afzal; Same v Asghar; Same v Baxter; Same v Khaliq; Same v Ali: QBD (Rose LJ and Silber J): 26 June 2001The defendants were prosecuted by the local authority for plying for hire as a hackney carriage without a licence and driving without insurance contrary to section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.They were convicted.

The Crown Court allowed their appeal against conviction of the offence under section 143 on the grounds that section 4 of the 1988 Act contained a complete, exhaustive list of road traffic offences in respect of which the local authority had power to institute criminal proceedings and it had no power under any other legislation to bring proceedings for road traffic offences.The local authority appealed, arguing that it could prosecute under section 222 of the Local Government Act 1972 which provided that a local authority could prosecute in legal proceedings where it considered it expedient for the promotion or protection of the interests of its inhabitants.Clive Lewis (instructed by Head of Legal Services, Middlesbrough Borough Council, Middlesbrough) for the local authority.

Robin Denny (instructed by Tilly Bailey & Irvine, Hartlepool) for the defendants.Held, allowing the appeal, that there was nothing to indicate that the list in section 4 of the 1988 Act was exclusive powers or that the section affected other powers of local authorities to prosecute; that in view of the local authority's regulatory powers concerning hackney carriages and private hire vehicles a power to prosecute for driving without insurance was appropriate under section 222 of the 1972 Act; and that under that section the local authority had power to 'prosecute', which meant take all steps necessary to institute and pursue prosecution, for an offence under section 143 of the 1988 Act.