‘Metric Martyr’ Braves Britain’s Scales of Justice

In his 12 years as a fruit and vegetable vendor, no one ever asked Steven Thoburn for 0.45359237 kilos of bananas--the metric equivalent of a pound.

That is the point the greengrocer will make in a Sunderland court beginning Monday, when he becomes Britain’s first vendor to go on trial for selling produce by imperial weights.

Already dubbed the “metric martyr” by anti-Europe crusaders, Thoburn will also be the cause celebre of Britons opposed to what they see as the encroachment of the European Union on British sovereignty and her majesty’s rule.

Under an EU directive, British traders were to have made the switch from ounces and pounds to grams and kilos by Jan. 1, 2000, bringing them into conformity with the rest of Europe.

Most supermarkets and grocers complied. But Thoburn, a second-generation “fruit and veg man” from Sunderland, which is in northeastern England, refused and was charged with two counts of using illegal measures.

“In or out of Europe, I just want to be left alone to get on with my job and support my family,” Thoburn said in a telephone interview. “I provide a service to customers, and no one has ever asked me for anything in a metric rate. If they asked, I would provide it. I have nothing against metric.”

But his supporters do. The Sun tabloid and small UK Independence Party--campaigners against Brussels-based lawmaking--have championed Thoburn’s cause and contributed to his defense. His trial has become a test case for them and good publicity for the anti-Europe stance of opposition Conservative Party leaders, who have sent Thoburn their best wishes.

“We have a British act of Parliament that says we can sell in pounds and an EU directive that says we cannot. If we lose, it means we are governed by a foreign power,” said fishmonger Neil Herron, a friend who is fund-raising for Thoburn.

If Thoburn is breaking the law, Herron said, then so are many other traders across Britain.

Herron insisted that market vendors are not the only ones clinging to the old weights and measures: Speed limits are still posted in miles per hour. McDonald’s still sells a quarter-pounder. And when the son of pro-Europe Prime Minister Tony Blair was born last year, his weight was announced in pounds and ounces.

Thoburn, a 36-year-old father of two, is admittedly nervous about the trial. “I’ve never been a political person,” he said.

His encounter with the scales of justice began last April when a trading standards officer visited his stall in the Southwick market and his nearby shop, and warned him against using his imperial scales, which weighed only in pounds.

The EU regulation does not prevent customers from asking for goods in pounds, but it says the seller must weigh and price goods in metric measures. Britain’s largest supermarket chain, Tesco, has gotten around this by posting prices in pounds and kilos. Most vendors of loose goods have purchased scales that measure in both systems--as Thoburn has done after the fact.

But despite the initial warning, Thoburn continued to use his imperial scales for three months until trading standards officers returned with two police officers and seized them. He was charged and faces a fine of up to $7,500 and six months in jail if convicted.

“We had visited Mr. Thoburn several times and advised him about metrification,” said a spokeswoman for the Sunderland City Council. “He received several warnings, and it became clear he was intent on flouting the law. We had no option but to prosecute.”

She said that several other traders also have refused to comply with the law but that the city is waiting for the courts to decide Thoburn’s case before proceeding against them.

Thoburn’s lawyer, Michael Shrimpton, will argue that the European regulations contradict Parliament’s 1985 Weights and Measures Act and therefore are illegal. The British government’s position is that a law passed by Parliament last year requires compliance with the EU directive.

The vendor is worried about the cost of his legal battle, which could spiral to $375,000 if he loses and has to appeal, possibly all the way to the highest court in the House of Lords. But even then, he said, he doubts that a judge will throw the book at him.

“There would be a little bit of hoopla if they send me to jail,” Thoburn said, adding that he has received support from customers and strangers alike.

“They say, ‘Go on, son, keep it up. We’re behind you,’ ” he said. “I do get a lump in my throat sometimes.”