Wimbledon ticket tout given final chance to avoid jail

Standard tickets for Wimbledon are issued through a strictly controlled ballot and cannot be transferred

A Wimbledon ticket tout has been told by a High Court judge he will be jailed unless he discloses his associates.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club took out an injunction against Oliver Hardiman last July, as part of efforts to combat touting.

In December, the club asked the High Court to send him to prison after he breached the order and entered Wimbledon.

Mr Hardiman's barristers argued a fine or suspended sentence would suffice.

In a ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice Morris said an immediate prison sentence was "appropriate".

However, Mr Morris gave Mr Hardiman a final chance to "purge" his contempt by sharing details of his associates later this month.

Speaking to Mr Hardiman directly, he added: "I have given you one final opportunity to think again.

"You will have until 26 April to provide the information. If you do, then subject to anything the claimants have to say, it is likely you will not be going immediately to prison.

"If you don't provide the information, you will."

Mr Hardiman was also ordered to pay more than £19,000 in costs, which he must pay by that date too.

Standard tickets for Wimbledon are issued through a strictly controlled ballot run by the club and cannot be transferred.

Visitors are required to show photographic ID alongside their ticket when entering.

The injunction issued against Mr Hardiman, made by a different High Court judge, barred him from unlawfully trading tickets for Wimbledon and from being within the vicinity of the club's premises during the 2023 tournament.

The order also obliged him to share details of his associates within 24 hours.

But, Mr Hardiman was later found touting tickets to people queueing and no information about other touts was provided.

'Tout supergrass'

During a hearing last month, barrister Edward Rowntree, representing the club, said Mr Hardiman "knowingly and consciously" failed to comply with the injunction.

He said Mr Hardiman should be jailed, adding that touting "puts people off" the sport.

Kevin Saunders, representing Mr Hardiman, said his client was initially willing to disclose information.

But, he said this "evaporated" after coverage of Mr Hardiman's case, in which he was described as a "tout supergrass".

Mr Saunders said "reckless" and "erroneous" reporting led to Mr Hardiman being told to stay silent by other touts and had caused him to suffer "shame, vilification, abuse and marginalisation".

In his judgement, Mr Justice Morris dismissed this claim, saying: "The message cannot be that the court will step back from imposing the sanction that it would have otherwise imposed by reason of abuse from third parties.

"Neither the terms of the press reporting nor any abuse the defendant may have received since then is a good reason to suspend a custodial sentence."

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