UK Security minister Tom Tugendhat MP banned from driving for six months after using phone at the wheel
Tom Tugendhat has been banned from driving in the UK for six months after he was spotted using his mobile phone while behind the wheel of his Skoda 4x4. He is the current Minister of State for Security in Rishi Sunak’s government, having assumed the position back in September 2022.
The offence was committed on April 4, 2022 - Tugendhat was found to not have used his phone to make a call or text. He was using his mobile device to read a map, the court heard.
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Hide AdAs a result, the MP for Tonbridge and Malling was given six points on his driving licence - adding to the six he already had. Additionally, he was also ordered to pay a number of fines which added up to £1,210.
Paul Morris, defending Tugendhat, did not offer any mitigating circumstances in an attempt to lessen his sentence and accepted Tugendhat would receive a driving ban.
Tugendhat delivered a written guilty plea to Bromley Magistrates’ Court earlier in November saying: “I was holding my phone - not using it. After the incident I took a course to refresh and correct my driving.
" I have included the result of the course. Please accept the course report. I accept my responsibility and recognise my culpability."
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Hide AdIn Westminster Magistrates Court, Judge Jack McGarva said: "Using a mobile phone in any way is a distraction. Without any doubt it impairs people’s ability to drive. I would expect you to set a good example for the rest of us."
The prosecution, Geraldine Dickinson, said during the case: “[The arresting officer] noticed that the driver was using a handheld phone. The device was being held in the driver’s left hand. He saw this in broad daylight for around 20 seconds."
Tugendhat ran in the Tory leadership contest over the summer, which saw Liz Truss, briefly, emerge victorious, but was eliminated in the third round of voting.
New legislation was brought in by the government this year regarding using your mobile phone while driving. The new law prevents people from using their phones while driving under any circumstances - even if they are not using it to communicate.
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