Pete Robinson: Nick Hogan's £10,000 fine in perspective

He said afterwards: "I think the financial penalty is extortionate considering the offence. If I was a drug dealer doing small amounts of cocaine I would probably only get a slap on the wrists."

And he's right.

Nick has been accused by some of publicity seeking and even 'cashing in' on the smoking ban by his actions. Obviously he sought to draw publicity to his cause otherwise there would have been no point. He was fighting for his beliefs and knew it could cost him dearly, as it has.

Nick Hogan was fined for dissent in a country that preaches tolerance while practicing anything but. His punishment was designed to show the rest of us proles who is the boss, that you don't mess with 'The State'.

All he's done is to allow a number of consenting adults to enjoy their perfectly legal time-honoured habit on his premises. He hasn't recklessly endangered the public or created some kind of affray.

Anyone who found his pub undesirable was perfectly at liberty to use another just along the road.

To put his punishment into perspective here, for comparison, are a few more fines handed out on the same Monday. Most of these did affect the health and well being of others, in some cases fatally:

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A detective constable who was "aggressively" driving an unmarked police car hit and killed a 43-year-old man - fined just £2,000 (13 days' pay).

A Liverpool Chinese supermarket selling out-of-date food more than two weeks past it's use-by date - fined £600 and ordered to pay the council's costs of £1,500.

Scottish international defender Bob Malcolm was found fast asleep and drunk in the middle lane of the M1 motorway - fined £750, 20 months ban and ordered to pay £75 costs.

A boss who made bogus insurance claims totaling £92,000 for burglaries at his builder's yard, also tried to hide plant machinery by burying it underground - fined £5,000 with £560 costs.

A pregnant teenager died after her car was struck by a Dutch trucker who was charged with causing death by dangerous driving. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving and was fined £1,000 with six licence points.

A man who pleaded guilty to possession of a quantity of cocaine was fined £200 by Preston magistrates and ordered to pay £50 costs.

A man assaulted two police officers after punching his own brother was fined £400 for the two assaults, £50 for obstructing a police officer and £60 costs.

A man who caused an 11 vehicle pile-up on the M1, resulting in 5 deaths, was fined just £130 for careless driving.

A 75-year-old man head-butted and threatened to stab a teenaged supermarket worker after being asked to move his car, his second assault in 2 years - conditionally discharged and ordered to pay £200 in compensation.

The owners of a Perth fish shop were fined a total of £850 after environmental health officials discovered a catalogue of food hygiene breaches during two visits to the premises last year.

Boxing champ Amir Khan got his second driving ban in three months and was fined £1,000 - after a court heard he tore along a motorway at 140mph.