Dad who took his daughter out of school for a holiday wishes he’d just paid the fine

WHEN Jon Platt pulled his daughter out of school to take her to Disney World, he had no idea it would cost him more than $50,000.

A DAD who took his seven-year-old daughter on a holiday in the middle of term to Disney World has admitted he wishes he’d paid the $A100 fine for taking her out of class.

Jon Platt, 46, sparked an epic two-year $A235,000 legal battle after jetting off on a seven-day family holiday to Florida in 2015 and then refusing to pay the penalty, The Sun reports.

His case was backed by the High Court but the Supreme Court — the highest court in the UK — overruled the decision and he was slapped with a $A3350 fine and a 12-month conditional discharge on Friday.

The dad-of-three, from the Isle of Wight, has now revealed he regrets not paying the initial charge and costing the taxpayers, as well as himself, tens of thousands of pounds.

Jon Platt and his wife Sally leave the Supreme Court after losing the case.

Speaking to Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on This Morning, he said: “If I could go back in time and I knew what I know today, I would have paid £60 ($A100).

“This has been a ridiculously expensive process but you don’t have hindsight and sometimes you’ve got to stand up for yourself and stand up for what you believe is the right thing.”

However, he told the hosts that he is unfazed by the penalty he has in turn faced from the courts — including a criminal record.

He said: “It’s a badge of honour — 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.”

And, he added that his wife is “delighted” the landmark case is finally over.

Mr Platt said he was also given a further fine on Friday — after receiving a parking ticket on his car from wardens outside the court.

He said: “I put three hours on the car and the case went on longer than I thought and I sent my brother out to put a ticket on and he said they had hooded it to stop the car from moving.

“But by the time we came out it was taken off.”

However the defiant dad said on this occasion, he would pay this fine upfront.

Mr Platt was convicted of failing to secure his daughter’s regular attendance at school in a hearing at Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court.

He was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay $A3350 costs plus a $A33 surcharge.

Jon Platt admits on This Morning he wishes he’d paid the original fine. Picture: Shutterstock/Splash

Speaking outside the court on Friday, he said: “This is the end for me now, this has gone on for far too long and far too much money has been spent by me and the taxpayer.

“I’ve spent close to £30,000 ($A50,000), a Freedom of Information request found £140,000 ($A235,000) has been spent by the taxpayer, but if you include the Supreme Court legal costs I think it isn’t far off a quarter of a million.

“Way too much money has been spent but I’m not going to appeal it. I don’t agree with the magistrates’ decision but I’m going to respect it.

“I’m sure there’s parents out there that hate me and I’m sure there’s some who think I’m a hero. But at the end of the day I turned up to court to say not guilty to an offence I’m not guilty of. But I will respect their decision and not appeal it.”

His lawyers had argued that his continued prosecution is unfair and unjust in the eyes of the law and appealed for it to be thrown out.

Paul Greatorex QC, defending Mr Platt, said documents from the school were “completely vague” and it was not made clear that if he took her on an unauthorised holiday he would receive a fixed penalty notice and be prosecuted if he did not pay it.

Giving the judgement, magistrate Jeannie Walker said: “The circumstances of this case fall squarely into that breach of school rules.”

At the time Mr Platt said he did not choose the holiday date to save money but had a problem because his other kids go to a different school with different holidays.

Platt took his daughter out of school to visit Disney World in Florida. Picture: Jacqueline Nell

The council prosecuted Mr Platt after he refused to pay the $A100 penalty.

But local magistrates found there was no case to answer and threw the case out, so the local authority appealed to the High Court in London.

Two senior judges upheld the magistrates’ decision and declared that Mr Platt was not acting unlawfully because his daughter had a good overall attendance record of over 92 per cent.

They said the magistrates were entitled to take into account the “wider picture” of the child’s attendance record outside of the dates she was absent on the holiday.

The decision caused a surge in term-time bookings all over England as councils were left unsure if they should apply strict rules introduced in a truancy crackdown in 2013.

It means school heads can only give permission for absences in “exceptional circumstances”, and parents who flout the rules face fines or even jail.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished here with permission.