THE Wedgwood Museum travesty of a court hearing is upon us.

The reasons are complicated, but basically five members of the Wedgwood Museum Trust, which is a charitable trust, belonged to the same pension scheme as the completely separate company Waterford Wedgwood.

But now those five employees can be held liable for the £134 million debts of that company's pension scheme.

Even if the museum is sold off it would only raise £10 to £20 million and the Government Pension Protection Scheme would then have to take on the scheme anyway.

But no, they say the law must be followed, a solvent member of the pension scheme exists and we're going to take you to court and strip all your assets and rid the nation – and Stoke-on-Trent – of yet more of its wonderful history.

They ignore the fact that the collection was given in its entirety by members of the Wedgwood family and descendants and ex-workers, or by personal bequests, and donations by the company over 200 years.

The Pension Protection Fund says it was never a formal, permanent endowment or trust – so can be sold off.

But it was Josiah Wedgwood himself who in 1774 wrote: "I have often wished I had saved a single specimen of all the new articles I have made, and would now give twenty times the original value for such a collection.

"I am now, from thinking, and talking a little more upon this subject... resolved to make a beginning."

Surely he said it first?

For the sake of our city and our national heritage, and for common sense, I hope the judge sees sense and rules that the collection is not for sale, that it is in trust.

Even if every time someone donated something they didn't write down "I give this in trust forever for you to keep with the sole purpose of displaying and educating the public" they certainly had that intention.

Every lawyer we spoke to has said "well, trust law is quite complicated, there are no real precedents like this".

They would though, wouldn't they?

Are we really going to let precedent be decided on this collection that has been designated one of only 20 items on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register?

The museum is dedicated to "the people who have made objects of great beauty from the soils of Staffordshire".

And now an ill thought out bit of legislation may well mean that these beautiful objects, representing the craftsmanship, design, productivity and skills of 200 years of pottery production in Stoke-on-Trent, will end up in the hands of bankers and financiers and be scattered around the globe.

ALISON WEDGWOOD

Hollington