First they came for the smokers

If you ever needed an example of the authoritarian mind set of Nottingham City Council, this should suffice. Not content with banning smoking in pubs, cafes and clubs, thus sending many to the wall and forcing those addicted to the weed to huddle together in freezing external smoking areas and street corners, ostracized like the unclean, they would like to go further.

But council officer Julie Rankin has ruled the law - which would apply only to Nottingham - would not be "appropriate".

She said: "A ban on smoking in all streets would be subject to challenge by human rights legislation and may prove difficult to enforce."

There you have it. Banning smoking in the street can't be considered. Not because it is totally unjust, unpleasant and authoritarian, but because that pesky human rights act would stop them enforcing it.