_{After a successful prosecution, the MoJ roughed up the perp to teach them a lesson.}

Demonstrating an impressive commitment to understanding absolutely every aspect of the criminal justice system it oversees, the Ministry of Justice has this week got itself convicted of a crime.

In January a speed camera in Greater Manchester caught a Renault Trafic van registered to the MoJ blowing through a 50mph stretch of the M62 at 75mph.

Police sent their demand for the driver’s identity to an MoJ PO Box in Gwent, Wales, which had been identified as the address for the vehicle’s registered keeper.

After three reminders went unanswered the MoJ was sent a notice of intention to prosecute. That too was ignored, and when the case went before the Manchester City Magistrates’ court, the MoJ failed to appear or enter a plea.

In a closed door hearing, magistrate Mary Brough convicted the Ministry of failing to give information relating to the identification of the driver of a vehicle when required, reported the Standard.

The MoJ was also fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £120 in costs and a £400 victim surcharge.

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Sounding like your typical chancer, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said in a statement provided to RollOnFriday, “The notice was sent to the wrong address - an invoice PO Box managed by our contractor rather than the correct vehicle registration address - so it didn’t reach the right team".

The MoJ will now seek to overturn the embarrassing verdict. “As with any defendant in these circumstances, the case can be restarted by a statutory declaration and we are fixing the addressing issue to make sure it doesn’t happen again”, it said.

The MoJ said there was "no indication of deliberate inaction", 

Finding itself in the invidious position of overseeing the organisation which gave it the conviction, the MoJ stated that while there was "no indication of deliberate inaction" on its part, there was equally "no suggestion the court process was flawed", either.

Despite everyone involved being absolutely blameless (apart from the white van man gassing it to Hull), the MoJ said it was, along with its contractor, "reviewing mail-handling processes to prevent similar issues in future".

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