The High Court has ruled, in connection with immigration, as follows :

"Mr Justice Sullivan, in London, said that the regime, introduced by the Immigration and Asylum Act, was not compatible with the right to a fair trial under article six of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The judge also ruled that the power to detain vehicles under the act was not compatible with the protection of property under article one in the First Protocol of the convention. "

IMHO the same argument would apply to vehicles appropriated by Customs & Excise for exceeding duty-free allowances. Read more

Following my earlier thread, I wrote to my MP (Simon Burns, Chelmsford West) using www.faxyourmp.com (excellent) and got a reply this morning which included the following:

"Thank you for your interesting letter because, until I received it, I was unaware that there was a possibility that the Govenment were going to break the agreement that the tolls for the Dartford Crossing were going to continue once the Queen Elizabeth Bridge was paid for.

If this is indeed the case ...... it seems a breach of faith ..... as I understood that the proposal for tolls in the first place was simply for them to remain in place until the bridge was paid for.

I will certainly make representations .... because it would seem to be wrong if the Government is going to go back on a agreement that was made prior to the building of the bridge"

So it seems that our representatives have not been made aware of this move, and that MPs WILL act if informed.

Chelmsford is only 20 miles from the tunnel and I find it astounding that local MPs are unaware, but this stretch of the M25 is used by everyone going to the Channel ports or Eurotunnel unless from south London , the south coast or West Country, so it is of national interest.

So, PLEASE write to YOUR MP, it's easy online, and this measure affects a major component of the national transport network, it is not simply a local issue, and the more pressure we can apply by democratic means the more chance there is of a policy u-turn.

Thank you in anticipation of your support. Read more

anyone had experience of buying/ordering new car from Pinewood Motor Co in Sth London (formerly official Toyota-recognised main dealer, now independent supplier)?

many thanks
Andrew Read more

I've just hit the kerb of a bollard square at speed.

Rim is dented and tyre split. There is now a 'wobbling' sensation.

I shall be replacing the wheel at lunchtime. Is this wobbling likely to be the rim or can I expect more problems?

Car doesn't pull to left or right at all... Read more

Got my husband to check the tyre pressures on Sunday morning prior to heading off to lunch with all my family. (No apologies for making him do this: I was wrapping presents, it was cold out, and the mucky jobs are his.) When he took the pump off the valve on the final wheel, all the air started whooshing out.

He put the pump back on quick, and we sought technical advice by phone from my brother. He said the valve had probably stuck open, and explained how on his bicycles some of the valves have special notched caps which enable you to close the valve if you use this cap upside down. He didn't know how we'd fix this problem on a car without a similar gadget.

Fortunately our new tyre pressure gauge (Halfords) had a funny cap on the end, which had the notches we needed! But the instructions didn't mention what it was for.

Should I worry about this or only if it happens again? I've never known it happen before on a car - only on bikes, and mine haven't got those funny valve caps! Read more