Magistrate who 'doesn't want to punish drivers breaking Wales' 20mph law' quits his role
A magistrates’ chairman has quit his role in the courts, partly because he doesn’t want to punish drivers under Wales’s controversial new 20mph law.
Nick Colbourne, a former police officer who served as a magistrate at Mold and Wrexham for 18 years, said the Welsh Government’s 20mph law was the “last straw” for him.
The 66-year-old, who lives on the outskirts of Wrexham and is a former Labour councillor, said: "I am not telling anybody they are getting fined a minimum of £250. The fine would be £100, prosecution costs £110 and then there’s the victim surcharge.
“The politicians brought this in, but they don’t front up the public, the police on the beat and the magistrates in court do so.”
He added: "I totally get 20mph in front of schools and where children are playing and I don’t think anyone opposed it. But elsewhere we find it strange. It’s an ill-thought-out policy. This is hitting ordinary motorists in the pocket.”
An online petition against the default speed limit now has more than 460,000 signatures.
The Labour Welsh Government’s X feed which claims “20mph. A bit slower, but a whole lot better” has blocked replies following the public outcry
Critics claim the law has hit businesses, while some say car drivers are using more fuel, bus services are under threat because of longer journeys, and emergency responses could be slower, too, particularly when part-time firefighters drive to fire stations.
