First conviction for flouting smoking ban

A pub landlord who ignored the smoking ban completely and allowed smokers to continue to smoke on his premises has been fined £500. Hamish Howitt has become the first publican in the country to be convicted of breaching the smoking legislation, which came into effect in England on July 1.

He was fined £500 and ordered to pay £2,000 prosecution costs at Blackpool Magistrates' Court, after District Judge Peter labelled Howitt's campaign "silly, misguided and pointless".

Despite the penalty, the owner of the Happy Scots Bar has vowed to continue his defiance of the law.

Howitt, who has been a staunch critic of the new legislation and even set up a political party, Fight Against Government Suppression (FAGS), said:

"We're all going back to the Happy Scots Bar now for a smoke. The judge was very fair but he was preaching apathy with his words. Someone has got to stop this law, otherwise it will go through like a juggernaut."

Owners and managers of pubs, clubs and cafes are legally bound to enforce the ban, but the landlord continually refused to do so, despite warnings and summonses being served on him by the authorities.

Howitt, who changed his plea to guilty before the start of the scheduled two-day trial, had received a total of 12 separate summonses, which meant that he faced a maximum fine of £30,000. Council officers issued a written warning after they visited the bar on July 1, and despite a number of fixed penalty notices being issued to customers, and further visits from the Council, Howitt continued to allow his customers to light up.

Trevor Colebourne, defending, told the court that his client had decided to change his plea to guilty, and that his "passionate campaign" had caused a great strain on his finances, as well as his emotional wellbeing and health.

Howitt was given a two-year conditional discharge for the first seven offences committed and fined £100 each for the remaining five. He confirmed that he had no intention of paying the fines or giving up his fight against the anti-smoking legislation.