I WOULD like to congratulate David and Samantha Cameron on the birth of their daughter, who weighed in at a healthy 6lb 1oz. It is nice to see they have followed in the footsteps of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, who both announced the birth weights of their children in imperial measures.

The difference with the Labour Prime Ministers and Mr Cameron was that the government of the former pair was actively prosecuting market traders and shopkeepers for using such imperial measures.

When the late Metric Martyr Steve Thoburn’s son, Jay, was born in 2002 he announced the birth weight as 3,790 grammes and said: “If birth weights were announced in metric most people wouldn’t have a clue whether the baby was the size of a small tomato or a premature hippopotamus.”

Let us hope that Mr Cameron and the coalition Government do the decent thing and announce that it will be their intention to move towards a pardon for the five Metric Martyr traders convicted under the Metrication Regulations – and posthumous recognition for Steve – and let justice prevail, allowing us to finally inch towards a victory for common sense.

Neil Herron, Campaign Director, Metric Martyrs Defence Fund, Boldon, Tyne and Wear.