Allotment Cheques: 'Dafter and Dafter' says Lib Dem MP

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 4th Jul 2002

A letter has now been received from Feltham magistrate's court correcting the press story last week about 20p cheques to Twickenham allotment holders. But MP Vincent Cable says that "the facts are even worse than I thought."

"Apparently the youth was told to pay £187.50 compensation to 19 allotment holders, roughly £10 each. Fine. But the court is collecting the money and then paying the victims in small installments. They will each be receiving 20p cheques every month or so for several years. This is quite mind blowing; each cheque is costing the court around £5 to issue. The explanation given is that victims might not like the idea of their compensation being withheld until it accumulates to a sensible sum."

"Frankly I cannot believe that the victims derive any satisfaction from sending such an absurd waste of tax payers money and to receive such trivial sums. I have written a hard hitting letter to the minister in the Lord Chancellor's department asking her to investigate".