Hundreds of people have had their train fare evasions quashed after they were prosecuted unlawfully. The cases were the last 500 to be declared void after a judge ruled last year that railway operators were not allowed to use the controversial single justice procedure (SJP).
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring's ruling in August paved the way for thousands of train fare evasion prosecutions to be quashed. The SJP was introduced in 2015 to allow magistrates to rule on minor offences - such as watching TV without a licence or driving without insurance - without the defendant being present in court.
They were extended to private rail fare evasion prosecutions in 2016 - but many train companies have used them citing the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, which they are not permitted to do. In a three-minute hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday, Mr Goldspring quashed 350 Northern cases, 180 TransPennine Express cases, and 36 Great Western Railway cases.
He said it should be the final hearing dealing with these kinds of prosecutions - after more than 28,000 were quashed in November. Read more from Sky News:Ticketless passengers should not get finesGovernment backs Heathrow third runwayHelicopter crash was accidental.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News. Be the first to get Breaking News. Install the Sky News app for free. Rail firms who have also seen their cases dropped include Avanti West Coast, Greater Anglia, Arriva Rail Northern, Merseyrail, and C2C.
