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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Izzy Hawksworth & Ria Tesia

Pranksters commemorate Rishi Sunak's £100 fine for not wearing seatbelt with blue plaque

Pranksters have erected a commemorative blue plaque in the street where Rishi Sunak was hit with a £100 fine for not wearing a seat belt while a passenger in a car. Jokers installed the English Heritage-style plate on a lamppost in Blackpool, Lancs., on the route the Prime Minister took during a visit earlier this month (January).

It reads: "Rishi Sunak 19-1-2023. Received a fixed penalty notice for being filmed passing this spot in a car whilst not wearing a seatbelt."

The English Heritage blue plaques are permanent signs installed in public places across the country. They serve as an historical marker and commemorate a link between that location and a famous person - in this case, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Mr Sunak, who was previously fined while Chancellor last April for breaching lockdown rules, was caught out in an Instagram video he posted on levelling up. A clip went viral when he featured in video of him in a car without wearing a seatbelt on the way to nearby Morecambe, Lancs.

Lancashire Police announced the day after the video was released, that he would be fined. A Labour spokesman said at the time: "Hapless Rishi Sunak's levelling-up photo op has blown up in his face, it has turned him into a laughing stock."

A spokesman for No10 said: "The Prime Minister fully accepts this was a mistake and has apologised. He will of course comply with the fixed penalty."

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