The European Commission’s Industry Commissioner Gunther Verheugen quietly announced in a meeting on 2nd May that "dual marking" of goods in imperial and metric will 'continue indefinitely'.

Following intense lobbying by the Metric Martyrs Campaign and excellent work with US business by the British Weights and Measures Association, Commissioner Verheugen agreed that imperial measurements are good for business.

Papers also released to the Metric Martyrs by the Department for Trade and Industry also indicate that the Government and the DTI have performed a screeching u-turn, and have abandoned plans to abolish imperial measures after 2009.

This represents a monumental victory for the Metric Martyrs who have campaigned tirelessly from their Sunderland office against enforced metrication since two Sunderland traders, Neil Herron and Steve Thorburn were first targeted by the authorities in March 2000.

It is now apparent that the persecution of Steve Thoburn (and subsequently 4 other traders whose cases were consolidated into the Thoburn appeal) was politically motivated. but the resistance that their defiant stand created forced all the other local authorities to back off. and they have been held at bay for 7 years.

The Metric Martyrs saw their convictions upheld at the Court of Appeal when Lord Justice Laws delivered a verdict that established the primacy of EU law.

Tragedy

Tragically, Steve died in his wife’s arms of a massive heart attack only days after learning that his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights had been rejected.

He had vowed to continue to defy the law and continued serving his customers in the way they wanted to be served.

Campaign Director, and former fishmonger, Neil Herron states:

”This is a monumental victory for the Metric Martyrs and all who have supported the campaign.  It has been “People Power” that has forced the European Commission and the Government to abandon the enforced metrication programme.

”We have saved the pint, the mile, the yard, the foot as well as pounds and ounces.

”We have stood toe to toe with the Government and the EU and won, and shown others that you can stop the tide of EU legislation.”

Pardon sought

Steve Thoburn was the man who drew the line in the sand.

All that remains now for the campaign is to insist on a Royal Pardon to quash the criminal conviction that Steve took with him to the grave.

He should never have been prosecuted, and ALL the authorities knew that it should never have happened.

The public had never wanted or asked for imperial measures to be abolished, and no political party had ever put it in their manifesto that they intended to criminalise the use of imperial measures.


Link:
Metric Martyrs