HOW interesting to learn that Jonny Mason, the finance director of Halford’s, the car parts retail chain, has been fined the equivalent of £12,000 by a court in Norway for drink driving his golf buggy at 6mph on a footpath.

At first reading this may sound a somewhat over-the-top penalty for such a ‘minor’ offence but, Norway has a much fairer system when it comes to fines for criminal behaviour - they are earnings-linked. How very sensible.

For example a fine of say £25 to someone on minimum wage has huge impact, but to a millionaire like Mr Mason it is a drop in a bucket.

Fixed penalty fines should be done away with and, as in Norway, they should be calculated as a percentage of the offender’s income.

Then we can truly claim that the law is fair on all.

ROBERT READMAN

Norwich Avenue West, Bournemouth

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