More than a nuisance

Cause “serious inconvenience” and you’ll face 10 years in prison

Clause 59 of the government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which has its first debate in the Commons tomorrow, would replace the existing common law (judge-made) offence of public nuisance with a new statutory definition.

In principle, this should be a good thing. The only way of deciding what conduct is prohibited by a common law offence i…