A UK Government minister has been banned from driving for six months after he was caught speeding on a motorway late year.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick was found to be travelling 28mph over the speed limit on the M1 in Northamptonshire in 2022.
He was fined £1,639 on Tuesday after admitting to travelling at 68mph in a temporary 40mph zone between junctions 18 and 17 on the southbound M1 last August, the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre said.
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, meaning the public and press cannot attend.
They also allow defendants to plead guilty or not guilty in writing which meant that Jenrick, 41, did not have to attend court in person.
Responding to the sentence, Jenrick 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.”
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