74,000 train passengers in England have fare fines 'quashed'

James Rodger
·2-min read

Tens of thousands of train fare fines are set to be quashed in England and Wales. Four firms including Northern and Greater Anglia unlawfully prosecuted more than 74,000 alleged fare dodgers and a spokesperson for Northern Trains has now apologised for the errors.

Four companies including Northern Trains and Greater Anglia unlawfully prosecuted more than 74,000 passengers in England and Wales using the single justice procedure (SJP). At a hearing in June, the chief magistrate, Paul Goldspring, told Westminster magistrates court he believed the prosecutions were void and “probably unlawful”.

On Thursday, Goldspring said six test cases should be declared a “nullity”, so it was “as if as though the proceedings never existed”. He said: “The implications are wide ranging because the same issue applies to over 74,000 cases where the same unlawful prosecutions took place.”

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In a summary of his judgment, Goldspring said: “Parliament did not envisage these offences being prosecuted through the SJP. They should never have been brought through that process. This is, to my mind, a paradigm nullity.” He added: “I’m satisfied that the correct approach is to declare each of the prosecutions void and a nullity.”

Goldspring said that “the number seems to change every time I ask”, but that a figure of “over 74,000” is a “best guess at the moment”. He said: “I will simply list them as a bulk listing, no parties required, and then I will then make a similar direction in relation to all these cases affected, so everybody is in the same position.”

The judge said by the end of November a team would “begin the work of recovering the money paid and refund the money to individuals. “There are discussions ongoing with all the parties about how that may be paid,” he added in his ruling today (Thursday).

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