Labour laws creating up to 33 new crimes a month

London : Labour has created 4,300 new crimes since taking power — including a ban on swimming in the wreck of the Titanic and on the sale of game birds shot on a Sunday.

Gordon Brown has been the worst offender in this unprecedented "legislative splurge", with his Government creating new offences at the rate of 33 a month.

Under Tony Blair, Labour invented 27 new ways of criminalising the public every month.

The "crimes" range from swimming in the hull of the Titanic without the permission of a Cabinet Minister to "disturbing a pack of eggs" when instructed not to by an authorised officer.

In total, between 1997 and 2009, 4,289 new criminal offences were created, approximately one for every day ministers have been in office. It is twice the rate at which new crimes were created under the last Tory administration.

Bewildering

They include offences such as carrying out a nuclear explosion, which could easily be covered by existing laws. Others are simply bewildering, such as the ban on the sale of game birds shot on a Sunday — or Christmas Day. This stems from the fact it is illegal, for ancient religious reasons, to shoot the birds on a Sunday so the Government felt the need to also make it illegal to sell birds shot on a Sunday. Liberal Democrat home office spokesman Chris Huhne, who uncovered the figures, attacked the Government's law-making frenzy in a speech last night.

"The ‘bill teams' in departments are possibly among the most productive parts of the public sector. Unfortunately, the product is in too many cases virtually worthless," he said.

Huhne wrote to Justice Secretary Jack Straw urging him to repeal some of the laws.

Straw said: "I am sorry that you regard these offences as unnecessary. In their different ways they are important pieces of legislation."

— Daily Mail