Neil Gaiman

Judge Martin McKenna ruled that, as the closures would hurt disadvantaged groups such as the elderly and the disabled, which is contrary to the conditions laid down in equalities legislation, the councils would just have to scrap their plans and think again. And he also made it crystal clear – as he quashed the closure decisions and told the councils to pay campaigners’ legal costs – that he was sending a message to other local authorities intent on restructuring their library services.

The councils had claimed “hyperbole, exaggeration and hysteria” on the part of the campaigners. But Judge McKenna, reflecting on how the case had been conducted, described the campaigners’ approach as “perfectly reasonable” and “proportionate” even in the areas where their legal claim had not been successful.