Jobsworth for the boys....
The pettiness just boggles the mind!
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14 September 2011 Last updated at 08:16 GMT
Birmingham charity ban hits British Legion poppy collectors
The Royal British Legion has been forbidden from making street collections in Birmingham city centre in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday.
The council has changed its application system to allow only one charity to collect in the street at once.
It said Oxfam had submitted an earlier application which meant the legion would have to forgo collections in New Street and High Street on 11 November.
The legion is not permitted to collect anywhere in the city on 12 November.
The Poppy Appeal is officially started in London one week prior to Remembrance Sunday, which falls this year on 13 November, giving fundraisers one week to make street collections, although tins can be left in stores earlier.
Oxfam said it hasdwaived its right to collect in Birmingham city centre on 5 November to allow the legion to collect on that day instead.
However city council licensing restrictions remain in place for Armistice Day on 11 November and Remembrance Sunday on 12 November.
Unfortunately they are unable to overturn that decision as it would be unlawful.”
Bruce Lines chairman of Birmingham City Council licensing committee
Carol Jones, whose 37-year-old soldier son John was killed in Iraq, said she could not "believe" the situation.
Sgt Jones from Castle Bromwich, who served with the 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, died as a result of injuries he received from a roadside bomb during a routine patrol in Basra in November 2005.
His mother said: "The Royal British Legion have always respected the fallen, they're always there for the veterans.
"As far as I'm concerned they should have priority. Whoever suggests dates and when they should apply should really start thinking about the fallen instead of petty ideas."
"It's about respect for the fallen right back to World War I, not just the recent wars."
She added: "My son's name is in the Hall of Memory. Does this mean anything? We've got to have a collection for Remembrance Day whether they like it or not."
Carol Jones asked councillors if it meant anything to them that her son's name was in the Hall of Memory.
Opposition Labour leader Sir Albert Bore said: "I am calling on the officers, the Tory and Lib Dem leaders and everyone else involved to join with me in making sure this problem is sorted, that common sense prevails and that the British Legion get a satisfactory outcome."
Birmingham City Council, which is run by a Liberal Democrat and Conservative coalition, said the rules had not changed but it was now following a first-come-first-served policy.
It said the legion had not submitted a formal complaint or appeal.
Chairman of the licensing committee Bruce Lines, who raised the issue at a council meeting on Tuesday, said: "Unfortunately they are unable to overturn that decision as it would be unlawful."
He said the legion had to take responsibility for not making an earlier application. The legion said there had been no formal deadline.
"They have got 10 consecutive days to work in the city centre, and it's only on a few days when they are excluded from a couple of streets," Mr Lines added.
He said in light of public reaction, the charity licensing policy would be reviewed in the future.
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