Members of the so-called Lawful Enforcement Alliance have attended Portsmouth Magistrates' Court to protest at the court's involvement in council tax enforcement.
One of the roles of the court is to consider council tax liability orders that are applied for by the local authority. In very simple terms, a liability order grants the local authority a broader range of powers in relation to the enforcement of council tax.
It's a contentious subject and one I won't be dwelling on for today's article, other than to say the court is legally obliged to make a liability order if it is satisfied that a council tax debt exists.
Around 20 members of the group assembled outside the court at lunchtime yesterday. Like all good protest groups it advertised its intentions on social media a few days ago, so that the court and police were poised ready for action.
In its social media rallying call, it said: "The Lawful Enforcement Alliance on Tuesday will be arresting Portsmouth Magistrates' Court security, staff and either Judge Robinson or Judge Callaway. If people don't stand on Tuesday we may as well close the network. Let's get this done, as this is why we actually exist."
The post concluded: "It is not merely of some importance, but it is of fundamental importance that justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done."
Members of the group had accused the court of defrauding the city's residents of council tax.
In the event, only a few protestors managed to enter the building and were quickly dealt with by the security staff.
No comments:
Post a Comment