Tory minister banned from driving after being caught speeding 30mph over limit

04 April 2023 , 15:33

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Robert Jenrick has been banned from driving for six months

Tory Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has been disqualified from driving for six months after he was caught travelling almost 30mph over a temporary speed limit.

The cabinet member was also fined a total of £1,639 at a behind-closed-doors court hearing, having admitted driving at 68mph in a 40mph zone.

Mr Jenrick was disqualified from driving as a result of "repeat offending", a court official confirmed, after he was given six points on his licence.

His latest driving offence happened between junctions 18 and 17 on the southbound M1 last August, the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre said.

He is understood to have been driving through Northamptonshire after an appearance on a BBC radio show in August last year.

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Mr Jenrick was disqualified as a result of repeated offending, the court said (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Following the ruling, Mr Jenrick said he was unaware that a temporary speed limit was in place.

He said: "I accept the court's decision."I was driving below the national speed limit on an empty motorway, with no road works in sight.

"I now understand that a variable speed limit had been applied, which I didn't see. I wouldn't knowingly exceed the speed limit."

The case was dealt with through a Single Justice Procedure at Northampton Magistrates Court, which allows a magistrate to rule on criminal cases seen as minor in a closed court.

This draconian rule means the public and press cannot attend.

They also allow defendants to plead guilty or not guilty in writing which meant that Mr Jenrick did not have to attend court in person.

The MP for Newark, in Nottinghamshire, was travelling after an appearance on BBC Radio 4's Any Questions at Wakefield Cathedral when he was caught by a speed camera in his Land Rover at around 11.30pm on August 5, the Evening Standard reported.

Mr Jenrick was fined £307 and handed three penalty points in March, for speeding on the A40 in west London in August 2021.

This time around he was fined £1,107 and ordered to pay a £442 victim surcharge and £90 in costs.

Dave Burke