When I was a young lad of about 13 I used to watch the Heathrow traffic from my bedroom window with binoculars and listening to ATC on my Sharp airband radio. I also sometimes took a 5p bus ride to LHR and stayed all day spotting from the Queens Building.
It was an innocent hobby and we openly listened in to ATC. We were unknowingly breaking the law apparently but nobody cared. This innocent hobby led to my Aviation career. Twelve years in the RAF as an AATC and then to work at LGW since then.
I do quite often listen in to JFK Tower / Ground transmissions on ATC Live. It can be interesting at times. Such a great shame that it is still deemed illegal in the UK. The world should be allowed to listen to our dedicated and highly professional UK controllers, as they are some of the best in the world.
The WTA is way out of date and needs to be amended. I think it should be legal to listen to, but not to act on what you hear.
The current law makes the UK seem backward and old fashioned these days!