A court has ruled that speed cameras authorised since 1992 were legally implemented by the Government after a man claimed that ministers had evaded a Parliamentary process.
Up until 1992 sole approval of the cameras was down to the Home Office but lawyers on behalf of Aitken Brotherston, 61, argued that this changed with the introduction of the 1991 Road Traffic Act, which also required Parliamentary backing.
However, prosecutors at Manchester Crown Court said that all cameras were properly approved and the legislation had been "followed to the letter".
Mr Brotherston, of Lymm in Cheshire, had initially been convicted of speeding after been caught by a laser gun, but he claimed the reading was inaccurate and appealed.
He said he believed the speeding charge was wrong because the evidence was inadmissible because of the issue of illegality.
Judge Jonathan Gibson ruled the evidence to be correct, saying the Home Secretary had operated correctly, and therefore dismissed the appeal.
Similar appeals are currently running in courts across the UK and Judge Gibson said he did not accept that Parliament had no say on the approval of speed devices.
He added: "It seems to us that if Parliament wishes to exercise control it can do so by repealing the statutory instrument."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
