LONDON, Feb 3: A purge is on to get rid of Britain’s outdated laws, the Law Commission said on Sunday, which should be music to the ears of street organists and servants among others.

The Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission have published proposals to repeal 260 obsolete Acts of Parliament, while a further 68 would be partially struck from the Statute Book.

“People need to be clear about what is in force and what is not, and an oversized Statute Book filled with out-of-date information wastes everybody’s time, said Law Commission chairman Sir Terence Etherton.

“As part of our drive to modernise and simplify the law we want to rid the Statute Book of meaningless provisions from days gone by which are no longer relevant in our modern world.” An 1839 law requiring street musicians particularly organists and brass bands to clear off if asked to by irritated householders is facing the chop.

Obsolete legislation making it an offence to give a false character reference for a servant is also in peril.

That law also made it an offence for servants to impersonate a master or mistress.

The oldest law facing the axe is the 1695 London to Harwich Roads Act, which allowed county justices to set up turnpikes along the route.—AFP