Immigration minister Robert Jenrick banned from driving for six months for speeding
4 April 2023, 16:33 | Updated: 4 April 2023, 16:53
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has been banned from driving for six months and fined for speeding.
Mr Jenrick travelled at almost 30mph over a temporary speed limit on the M1 last year.
He was also fined a total of £1,639 at a court hearing on Tuesday, after previously admitting to travelling at 68mph in a temporary 40mph zone between junctions 18 and 17 on the southbound M1 on August 5.
The penalty included a £1,107 fine and a £442 victim surcharge and £90 in costs.
Mr Jenrick was previously fined £307 and handed three penalty points in March for speeding on the A40 in west London in August 2021.
The latest 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, meaning 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.
Mr Jenrick pleaded guilty to the offence in February, telling a court he “sincerely apologised” for his actions.
The MP for Newark in Nottinghamshire claimed by way of mitigation that he believed he was still below the national speed limit.
The minister told Northampton magistrates’ court: “Please note by way of context that I was driving at 68 miles per hour on the M1 motorway, below the national speed limit of 70 miles per hour.
Read more: Minister Robert Jenrick faces driving ban after being caught speeding for second time
"At the late hour I was driving, the road was largely empty and I do not recall there being roadworks.
“I understand that there was a temporary 40 miles per hour limit in place on this section of the motorway. I would not have knowingly exceeded the speed limit in this manner.”
