§ Dr. PughTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what recent changes there have been in the law of trespass to allow individuals to seek compensation where their premises are trespassed upon for the commercial advantage of another. [117642]
§ Yvette CooperThere have been no recent changes to the law in this area. Trespass to land is a civil wrong, the most common form of which is committed when an unlawful visitor directly physically interferes with the owner's land without lawful justification. Once the boundary has been breached the landowner may approach the courts to seek an injunction to restrain the continuation of the trespass. The landowner may also have a legal cause of action for damages suffered because of the trespass. The recovery of damages might 1049W be only a small amount for the technical trespass, unless actual damage can be proved such as the cost of repairing a fence or gate broken by the trespasser.