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An Isle of Wight father tested the Government’s rules against taking children on holiday during termtime five years ago.
Jon Platt was issued a £60 fine after taking his daughter to Disney World in April 2015, including seven unauthorised absences for the trip.
After Mr Platt refused to pay, the bill rose to £120.
Jon Platt poses for photographers outside the High Court in April 2017 during the lengthy, costly court case
But he still persisted, prompting Isle of Wight council to take him to court.
Mr Platt won his first legal battle, with Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court finding he had no case to answer.
The council then escalated the case to the High Court, claiming that letting Mr Platt off the hook would set a bad precedent and undermine schools.
Mr Platt’s lawyers pointed out that his daughter’s attendance was 90 to 95 per cent before her missed dates. That indicates she was a good student and could afford to take the time off, Mr Greatorex QC stated.
Warning letters sent by his daughter’s school were ‘completely vague’, the lawyer added.
And Mr Platt didn’t know he’d be punished or fined for taking his daughter on the trip.
The High Court backed the magistrates’ earlier judgment, allowing Mr Platt to avoid paying the bill. But he racked up a huge sum in legal fees in the meantime.
Approximately £30,000 – plus £200,000 in fees to the taxpayer.
And after the council took the case to the Supreme Court – on the grounds Mr Platt was accused of undermining Parliament – Britain’s highest court sided against him.
The Supreme Court said allowing Mr Platt not to pay would be a ‘slap in the face to obedient parents who keep to the rules’.
Speaking on the court steps after the ruling, he said: ‘Every unauthorised absence, including being a minute late to school, is now a criminal offence.
‘If you share custody of your child – as I do – with a former partner, and they are late to school on a day you don’t have them, you have committed a criminal offence under this judgment.
‘If you decide to keep your child off school for a day because they’ve woken up in the morning, tomorrow morning they wake up they look tired and you decide to keep them off because you’re their parent, you can no longer do that, because if the head teacher second guesses you and marks it as unauthorised, you’ve committed a criminal offence’.
It only got worse, with Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court ruling against Platt in June 2017.
The court issued the father with whopping £2,000 fine – and a conditional 12-month discharge.
That means he now has a criminal record.
But Mr Platt was unfazed, claiming he wears the discharge as a ‘badge of honour’.
Though he later admitted he should’ve just paid the initial £60 fine, Mr Platt remained defiant.
He said: ‘I’m quite happy to be a criminal for taking my daughter on holiday. If it’s a price I have to pay, it’s a price I’ll accept.’
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