The fantabulous case of the Metric Martyrs

Via Neil Herron we have this clear explanation of the mess the Government had to get themselves into to prosecute the Metric Martyrs for selling produce in pounds and ounces.

This argument gave the Government an enormous problem. If they defeated it—by arguing that the doctrine of implied repeal does not apply—they would be admitting that a Parliament could bind its successors and therefore be compromising their own sovereignty. If they were defeated by it, they would have to admit that part of the European Communities Act 1972 had been repealed by a later Act and would have to expect that other parts of it would also turn out to have been repealed. With parts of the European Communities Act 1972 being repealed willy-nilly, it might one day be discovered that Britain had in fact left the EU some years previously. Neither of these possibilities was acceptable.