Thread: the "Livingstone" clause

Here is a quote from Guardian .co.uk.
Labour will lose voters if Gordon Brown stays ? Ken Livingstone | Politics | guardian.co.uk
So if you approach the train staff before they get to you, perhaps you too will be let off the penalty fare. And being in a hurry is acceptable. Perhaps other former mayors of London amongst us will be allowed the same leeway.

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Ken Livingstone caused more controversy today when he came under fire for setting a "poor example" after escaping a £20 fine despite getting on a train at Paddington station without a ticket.
The First Great Western train company denied that the former mayor received preferential treatment. A spokeswoman said: "When he got to Slough, Mr Livingstone approached a member of our staff, apologised and offered to pay before being asked. Our approach is to give passengers the benefit of the doubt before issuing a penalty fare.
"He said he was in a massive hurry and had not obtained a ticket. We took the same approach with 10 other passengers who were on this train. There was no question of Mr Livingstone being given preferential treatment."
Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrats' transport spokesman, told the Daily Mail: "This sends out the wrong message. It's a poor example to set.""

I think it is quite sensible and much more civilised myself.

In Venice, there are signs on all the vaporetti stating that if you haven't had a chance to buy the ticket before boarding, to go and approach the staff so you can buy a ticket then instead of risking a fine if controlled.