That is covered in the highway code...
We need to be quite careful, and clear, about this.
The Highway Code is
not the law. It reflects the law in many respects, but any prosecution would have to be under the law, not for breach of the Highway Code.
This comes up in court quite a lot
And, to be clear, it's quite correct to say there is no law about passing on the left, and it is quite right to say that any prosecution would either have to be for Careless or Inconsiderate Driving.
@T1 Terry , the highway code is a book published by our authorities which is supposed to both simply explain the laws of the road and to create a set of guidance notes which mean that we drive in a consistent, mutually considerate and safe way.
Our enforcement of camera offences is, in effect, very similar to your Australian model, except that the first notification is to the keeper of the vehicle, and demands to know the name of the driver on this particular occasion. If the keeper does not respond to the notice, then they are prosecuted with a different and more serious offence than what is called the "index offence".
Typically, the index offence would carry three penalty points and £100 fine, whereas the offence of failing to provide information would carry six penalty points, and over £1000 of fines, surcharge and court costs. This is obviously intended to encourage people to respond!
There is typically no studying of the photograph, which, nine times out of ten, is taken from behind anyway.
As in Australia, if people lie on the Notice of Intended Prosecution and nominate someone else to "take their points", they are typically jailed. There was a case not too long ago when a member of our parliament nominated his wife, with her agreement; he then cheated on the wife, and she, or a friend of hers, went to the press, and they both ended up in prison.
