Television pictures showed Lancashire and England cricketer Andrew Flintoff leaving court with a smile someway between smugness and sheepishness after celebrity "loophole lawyer" Nick Freeman had a speeding charge for his client dropped.

In the very same news programme, there was the story of an elderly disabled woman fined for displaying her disabled parking badge upside down.

The scales of justice definitely seem weighted in one direction, they don't sit easily.

Mr Freeman claims only to work within the law. Flintoff's case was dropped as the police failed to send the proper documents off within the given time.

However, the question is whether Mr Freeman and other lawyers with high profile clients are really serving the interests of justice. Most right-thinking people would agree that a thirst for justice is the key motivation behind entering a career in law.

The fact remains Flintoff was driving at 87 m.p.h. in a 50 m.p.h. zone. Just because the police sent a document off two days late does not make Flintoff any less guilty. If Flintoff had any guts he would have held his hand up and accepted a fine.

Not everyone has Mr Freeman to fall back on. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson apparently desperately needed the toilet, which explains why he was driving up the hard shoulder of a motorway.

David Beckham also escaped losing his licence after Mr Freeman argued his client was trying to escape the paparazzi. I always thought Beckham enjoyed having his photo taken.

Other clients who have benefited include footballer Dwight Yorke, golfer Colin Montgomerie and snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan. I haven't found any little old disabled ladies on his CV of famous courtroom victories yet. To be fair, though, his firm has set up a website offering advice to motorists on the technicalities of the law.

Perhaps I am being unduly harsh on Mr Freeman. The law is there for us all to follow and any loopholes that exist are not Mr Freeman's fault. It is up to the Government to close them.