A woman with terminal breast cancer has been convicted of not paying for a TV licence in the latest outrage from Britain’s controversial fast-track courts.
The 50-year-old mother told a TV Licensing inspector on her doorstep that she had been diagnosed with cancer. And in a heartbreaking handwritten letter to the court, she wrote: “I have been very stressed and depressed. I’m currently having on-going treatment for terminal cancer.
“Further to this, every day is a struggle. I’m in a lot of pain and struggle to move out of bed. I get my daughter to help me with everyday needs.”
The woman was prosecuted under the controversial single justice procedure, and last week received a criminal conviction.
But after the Evening Standard highlighted her case, TV Licensing issued an apology, admitted that she should never have been taken to court, and vowed to have the conviction overturned.
“This case should not have proceeded to prosecution and we are extremely sorry for this,” said a spokesman. “We will be writing to the customer to apologise directly and we will be re-opening the case as soon as possible so the prosecution can be withdrawn.”
Court papers reveal the woman was interviewed under caution on her doorstep in Greater Manchester by a TV Licensing inspector from outsourcing firm Capita in February.
She revealed details of her illness, said she had watched Emmerdale the previous evening and was unsure if her licence had expired. “I’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, been in hospital having treatment,” she was recorded as saying.
A prosecution was brought after she did not comply with an out-of-court settlement, and after being convicted she received a three-month conditional discharge with an order to pay a £26 fee because the case had come to court. Court papers also reveal the woman’s benefits had recently been withdrawn.
The single justice procedure allows magistrates to sit alone and in private to deal with low-level criminal cases, handing out convictions based on written evidence alone.
A Standard investigation has exposed deep flaws in the system, including that letters of mitigation are not routinely seen by prosecuting bodies like TV Licensing.
This means there is no opportunity to withdraw cases which may not be in the public interest. Magistrates have already called for reform of the system, which they say is broken.
In a second case last week, a 39-year-old woman was convicted in a DVLA prosecution for not taxing her car in the months after she too was diagnosed with cancer. She wrote in mitigation accompanying a guilty plea: “I had started chemotherapy and before this in November 2023 had to have a lumpectomy to remove the tumour. I am still undergoing treatment. I am sorry that I allowed this to happen.”
Both Labour and the Conservatives have pledged to review the operation of the Single Justice Procedure after Thursday’s election, amid growing concern that defendants are being harshly treated and, in some cases, wrongly convicted.
