Britain is to keep its pounds and ounces.Campaigners are celebrating after the European Commission abandoned its hugely unpopular plan to scrap the historic Imperial measures.
Brussels bureaucrats admitted that forcing traders to use only metric grams and kilos would not be 'good for business'.
The present dual labelling system, displaying both sets of measures, will now carry on indefinitely.
Neil Herron, director of the Metric Martyrs pressure group, hailed a 'monumental victory'.
He dedicated the triumph to the memory of his friend Steven Thoburn (pictured), the Sunderland green-grocer who died at 39 as he fought his conviction for selling bananas by the pound.
Mr Herron said: "People power has forced the Commission and the Government to abandon the enforced metrication programme.
"We have saved the pint, the mile, the yard, the foot and now we have saved pounds and ounces. We have stood toe to toe with the Government and the EU and won - and shown others that you can stop the tide of EU legislation."
Under Brussels plans dating back to the 1990s, it would have become illegal for UK shops to display the Imperial measurements after January 1, 2010, with traders facing fines of up to £2,000.
But Industry Commissioner Gunther Verheugan performed a spectacular U-turn when he spoke to a committee of MEPs on Tuesday.
He said research had shown that the intended ban would damage trade with the US, which uses Imperial measurements for many goods.
No comments:
Post a Comment