Robert Jenrick MP may face driving ban after being caught speeding... again
Party of law and order?
The immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, could be facing a driving ban having been caught travelling significantly over the speed limit less than six months after being fined for another speeding offence.
The Conservative MP for Newark and Bingham was captured by police cameras driving his Land Rover at 68mph in a temporary 40mph zone on the M1 in Northamptonshire on August 5 last year.
In March 2022 the former housing secretary was fined £307 and slapped with three penalty points when he was caught breaking a 40mph speed limit on the A40.
Jenrick has pleaded guilty to the latest offence and has written to Northampton’s magistrates court to “sincerely apologise” for the incident, which occurred while he was driving home from appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions, held at Wakefield Cathedral in West Yorkshire.
With two lanes of the motorway closed for roadworks, a temporary 40mph speed limit on a section of M1 between Junctions 18 and 17 had been imposed.
In his written submission to the magistrates’ court, Jenrick said that he had not seen the signs for roadworks despite photos showing his car travelling underneath a motorway gantry with the speed limit “40” displayed in large numerals.
“Please note by way of context that I was driving at 68mph on the M1 motorway, below the national speed limit of 70mph,” he wrote.
“At the late hour I was driving, the road was largely empty and I do not recall there being roadworks.
“I would not have knowingly exceeded the speed limit in this manner. I can only sincerely apologise for having done so on this occasion.”
A police statement following the incident said that given that Jenrick was almost 30mph over the designated speed limit that the conditional offer of a fixed penalty notice would not be applicable.
The case has been adjourned until April 4.
Jenrick is the latest in a recent line of Conservative politicians to have been found guilty for motoring offences.
The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, was just weeks ago fined after being filmed not wearing a seatbelt in the back of a moving car in Lancashire.
The security minister and one-time Tory leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat was banned from driving for six months in November having been caught using his mobile phone while driving.
The MP was spotted holding his phone as he drove along Wandsworth High Street in south-west London last April, and pleaded guilty to the offence. A judge served him with six penalty points on his licence last November.
With six points already on his licence for two previous speeding offences, Tugendhat is presently banned from driving until May.
Related articles
- After reading about Robert Jenrick getting caught speeding, you may want to read how the public wants 60mph motorway speed limits – according to a WWF survey
- And check out how motorists are being fined millions of pounds for inadvertently entering low-traffic neighbourhoods
- And did you know the penalty for speeding in 20mph roads is a postcode lottery?
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