Police 'looking into' clip of Sunak not wearing seatbelt as PM issues apology
Police will "look into" a video of Rishi Sunak not wearing a seatbelt in a moving car after the PM was forced into an embarrassing apology.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister, who posted the clip on social media, said it "was a brief error of judgement".
He said: "He accepts it as mistake. And as I say, he apologises for it.
"The Prime Minister believes everyone should wear a seatbelt and once again, I think I've made clear that there was an error or judgment. He removed it for a short period of time to film a clip which you've seen but he accepts that's a mistake."
Mr Sunak uploaded the video, understood to have been filmed in Lancashire, to his official Instagram account, which has 1.3million followers.
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
A spokesperson for Lancashire Police told the PA news agency: "We are aware of the matter and we will be looking into it."
Labour slammed Mr Sunak for posting a video of himself where he is be not wearing a seatbelt in a moving car.
It is clear the car is moving in the video and a seatbelt can be seen behind the Prime Minister, not secured over his shoulder.
Wearing a seat belt is a legal requirement for all drivers and passengers.
A Labour spokesman said: “Rishi Sunak doesn’t know how manage a seatbelt, his debit card, a train service, the economy, this country.
“This list is growing every day, and it’s making for endless painful viewing.”
Rishi Sunak posted a video of himself appearing not to wear a seatbelt in a moving car (rishisunakmp/Instagram)The Government’s official website says: “You must wear a seat belt if one is fitted in the seat you’re using - there are only a few exceptions.”
It adds that you can be fined up to £500 if you don’t wear a seatbelt when you’re supposed to.
The exemptions for not wearing a seatbelt include when you are reversing a car, in an emergency services vehicle or driving a goods vehicle.
People can also be exempt for medical reasons.
8 money changes coming in February including Universal Credit and passport fees
In the video, Mr Sunak bounces around cheerily as he announces details of allocations from the levelling-up fund.
He says: “In total, we're announcing over £2billion of funding and that's going to go to support projects across 100 different local communities around the UK. Now I'm out and about seeing levelling-up in action all across the country today.”
Mr Sunak adds: “You can follow my progress as I go around the country today here online or alternatively, go to the Government's levelling-up website where you can see an interactive map of everything that we're doing.”
He has not posted any further videos so it is unclear whether he later put on seatbelt as he went “around the country”.
Downing Street was approached for comment.
Wearing a seat belt can reduce the risk of death in a serious crash by up to 50%, according to road safety charity Brake.
Only 91% of back-seat passengers in England and Scotland wear seat belts, compared with 98% of drivers and 97% of passengers in the front seat, it said.
It comes as the to fly Blackpool this morning, as part of his trip to the North West.
A spokesperson said: “ isn’t even trying to hide these recklessly expensive habits anymore.
"Jetting around the country on taxpayers money like an A-list celeb rather than catching a train like the rest of us is simply absurd.”
has been distributed.
Analysis shows that seats in the South and London fared better than Yorkshire and the North East - stoking anger from jittery Conservative MPs worried the PM is abandoning the Red Wall.
Follow Mirror Politics on , , and .
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
