A driver has unsuccessfully claimed that he does not require a driving licence or car insurance to drive his motor vehicle on a public road because he was a ‘freeman of the land’.

Freemen-of-the-land, the freemen movement (or simply freemen) are a loose group of individuals who believe that they are bound by statute laws only if they consent to those laws.

They believe that they can therefore declare themselves independent of the government and the rule of law, holding that the only “true” law is their own interpretation of “common law”.

This belief has been described as a conspiracy theory.

Freemen are active in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

The bizarre encounter between the motorist and a patrol unit from West Midlands Police was highlighted in a tweet via the @ForceWMP twitter page in a tweet that said:

“Being a ‘freeman of the land’ does not exempt you from having a driving licence or insurance ….. and providing your details is also a requirement …off to custody we go !!!”

@ResponseWMP | @Twitter

There is also a ‘movement’ in North America who refer to themselves as ‘sovereign citizens’ who also claim to be exempt from the law.

A sovereign citizen is a member of a political movement of people who oppose taxation, question the legitimacy of government, and believe that they are not subject to the law.

However, the driver of the Astra (featured image) clearly also refused to comply with the lawful demands which were made by police officers, owing to the fact that the drivers window appears to have been smashed during the encounter.

Instead of displaying valid licence plates on his vehicle, the driver had a plate that said ‘private’ along with ‘not for commerce use – private mode of travel’ & ‘no driver licence or insurance required’.

@ResponseWMP | Twitter

Just how a ‘freeman-of-the-land’ thinks that he/she can bypass laws which we all have to abide by remains a mystery.

Clearly, for this motorist, it did not work.

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