IF anyone in the UK still has doubts about the repeated warnings given by opponents of European Federalism let them pay heed to the fate of Sunderland trader Steve Thorburn who after a brief trial in a British court finds himself facing a fine of £2,000 or a jail sentence for selling a bunch of bananas weighed and priced on a traditional set of imperial scales (lbs and ounces).

The excuse given by Sunderland Trading Standards for prosecuting Mr. Thorburn was that he had transgressed EU law by not weighing the bananas on metric scales.

This may not be the crime of the century, albeit causing great stress and anxiety to Mr. Thorburn and his family for the past six months. But the incident demonstrates quite clearly the extreme measures that the authoritarian regime in Brussels will resort to in order to realise their Utopian dream of "one Europe", crushing all opposition in the process.

The above is but a foretaste of things to come if Tony Blair and his disciples persist in taking the UK further down the path towards Federalism, a road beset with hazards and potentially dangerous precedents as the EU continues to enforce its undemocratic legislation throughout Europe.

Hopefully, the Sunderland trial will be entered into the annals of

British social history as a turning point, not unlike the Poll Tax rebellion in the 1980s when the otherwise highly tolerant British people finally shouted enough was enough. Or have we become a nation of pacifists willing to accept and abide by rules and regulations set up by a committee of political idealists abroad, simply so that we can continue to enjoy a brief period of virtual peace and tranquility, whatever the cost later will be?

Wilfrid Smith,

NW branch of the Democracy Movement,

Riversleigh Avenue, Lytham.