Drop the criminal surcharge

Former Blue singer Lee Ryan is not the brightest spark in the world - he was the one who moaned about saving the whales in the days following 9/11.

Yesterday, he was convicted of punching a taxi driver. He was fined £500, ordered to pay costs of £450 and must give the taxi driver £300 in compensation.

So far, so good. But he must also pay a £15 surcharge which goes towards victims of crime.

Why? He has just paid the victim of his crime £300. That should be an end to the matter. The surcharge should be abolished especially since if you get sent to jail for, say assault, you don't pay it.

More legal madness...