The Clothes Police Lose

A sensible decision, this one.

In a victory for skaters, hoodies and owners of oversized trousers everywhere, a teenager has won the right to wear his tracksuit bottoms halfway down his backside.

Why on earth such an ASBO was issued in the first place is beyond belief. Then again, the ASBO is an appalling way to manage offending behaviour anyway. It is not up to the state in whichever form to dictate what we may wear and how we may wear it, whether it is skaters with their underwear showing or Moslem ladies in burkas. Nor is what we wear up to one’s neighbours. It seems that Judge Leigh-Smith has decided that such a ban is in breach of the EHRA. However, as I understand it, this tyke was guilty of misdemeanours other than offending the taste of the clothes police.

After the conditions were removed, Drummond’s solicitor, Simon Campbell, and Jim Davis, for the prosecution, agreed on the terms for the order, which was imposed after convictions for assault, possession of Class B drugs and theft.

Fine, prosecute him for breaking the law. Wearing his trousers halfway down his legs should not be against the law, no matter how much it offends the fashion police and no matter how much of a twat he looks. Big Brother Watch says it all:

Alex Deane, director of the civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, said: “The proper punishment for the comically low-riding trousers favoured by some people is that we all think they look like idiots.”

Indeed. They do. And that is their right.