Pub landlord Nick Hogan released from jail ten years ago this week
Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 19:55 
I can’t let a small but important anniversary pass unnoticed.
Ten years ago this week pub landlord Nick Hogan, jailed for six months after allowing smokers to light up in his pub, was released after spending eleven days in a Salford prison.
Nick’s release followed an online campaign, led by bloggers Anna Raccoon and Old Holborn, that raised almost £10,000 to secure his release.
The Telegraph has the story here (Landlord who defied smoking ban freed from jail after punters pay his fine) but the real drama took place behind the scenes.
First there was a desperate and rather sad attempt to hijack Anna and OH’s initiative.
Then there was a problem getting PayPal to release the money, which led to a frustrating delay in getting Nick released.
Last but not least, the authorities at HMP Forest Bank in Salford insisted that the money had to be delivered and paid in CASH!
You can read the full story via these posts:
Smoking ban costs landlord his liberty (February 27, 2010)
Free Nick Hogan - how you can help (March 1, 2010)
Nick Hogan featured on SunTalk (March 1, 2010
Nick Hogan in “violent” jail (March 1, 2010)
Get Nick out for No Smoking Day! (March 2, 2010)
Nick Hogan - every little helps (March 4, 2010)
Nick Hogan - target reached! (March 5, 2010)
Nick Hogan - free at last! (March 10, 2010)
Old Holborn - the money shot (March 10, 2010)
Nick Hogan - behind the scenes (March 11, 2010)
Nick Hogan - a “parable for our times” (March 15, 2010)
The following year Nick spoke at a Forest event that took place at the Cavern Club in Liverpool during the 2011 Labour conference.
The tenth anniversary of the smoking ban later prompted an interview with Nick in the Manchester Evening News, The only man ever jailed over the smoking ban has given up cigarettes... but he's not given up speaking his mind (July 1, 2017), which is worth reading.
And to prove that he’s still alive and kicking, Nick announced recently that Bury Conservative Association had selected him as a candidate in the local council elections (which have now been postponed until 2021).
As for that day in Salford, aside from David Hockney’s appearance at the Labour conference in Brighton in 2005, it is without doubt the most surreal thing I’ve ever been involved in.
Thanks, Nick!
H/T Old Holborn and the sadly deceased Anna Raccoon (aka Susanne Cameron-Blackie).
Below: Nick Hogan addressing a Forest event at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, September 2011
Reader Comments (4)
That was when criminalisation of decent law abiding people who smoked began.
The revenue coffers have since been boosted by fining smokers for all sorts of things. The government had to find some way of replacing the tax lost from quitters and councils saw a way of getting cash to help pay for city gentrification.
Shame on all of them for their staggering intolerance and downright cruelty.
The idea of a smoking ban in our country was a complete outrage to me and many others, the idea our government wanted to control our lives was simply a step to far for me. For them resons I felt that I needed to do something and also try and protect my pub business.
I will be eternally grateful for the support from my family, friends and peers including you Simon Clark.
Even when I was sat in a prison cell, I didn't for one moment feel alone. I remember well the boost in morale I received when literally hundreds of letters and postcards from all over the world (I still have them) where pushed through my cell door.
I also remember the joy when I was released and saw Old Holborn and Simon Clark waiting at the prison gate. I also had the chance to talk with Anna Raccoon several times before she passed and was able to express my gratitude.
Unfortunately we didn't manage to stop or reverse the ban, but we "may" have sent a message to authorities and curtailed their ambitions to introduce further restrictions on our freedoms
I will always be grateful for getting in out of tha "Cat B" prison.
Thank you one and all
Nick Hogan
It was a privilege to be there, Nick. You spoke with great composure and dignity and handled the whole experience with remarkable fortitude. Delighted to hear you are standing for election to your local council. What’s it like being a pillar of the community?!
It is beyond belief that Nick was actually jailed in a nation claiming to be a liberal democracy. Smoking is healthier than authoritarian lifestyle control. The same intolerant bullying is evident in Australia, by spineless greedy politicians with too much power, scared of single issue political lobbyists like ASH cloaked in the sanctimonious garb of "public health". Hard coercive paternalistic government must cease, and has already caused far more damage to society than smoking ever could.