Eric the viking wrote:
Seriously is it not illegal for anyone to clock or are ya just pulling me plonker TDO

Well when I read Highwayman's point last night I had a look on a Trading Standards website, and it said:
"If you buy a vehicle and the odometer reading is incorrect, a criminal offence may have been committed if the seller is in trade or business."
"If a private seller 'clocks' a motor vehicle, you still might be able to claim compensation, although they will not have committed a criminal offence."
Note I said that it wouldn't be an 'offence' for a private seller to clock the car, but this doesn't mean that it's legal, since a buyer could claim compensation.
But from the licensing point of view that we were considering, if it wasn't an offence then the committee's stance on the matter wasn't entirely clear from a legal point of view, hence my original post.
However, I had a look on another site earlier today, and it said:
"If an odometer reading is incorrect an offence may have been committed under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 if the vehicle was supplied or offered for supply IN THE COURSE OF A TRADE OR BUSINESS.
"If a private seller ‘clocks’ a motor vehicle then an offence may have been committed under the Theft Act 1968."
This clearly contradicts the first statement, so it's clear (!) that the law isn't that clear on the subject.
But there are probably dozens of statements on various websites (the above two were Neath/Port Talbot and Oxfordshire respectively), so if anyone is interested and has the time then it shouldn't be difficult to find lots of info on the subject.
the committee were right and probably had proper legal advice from a proper solicitor.
and not someone who plays around with button books.