Security Minister Tom Tugendhat has been banned from driving for six months after he admitted to using his phone whilst behind the wheel. The Tory MP for Tonbridge and Malling was stopped by PC Joseph Robson on Wandsworth High Street on April 14.
Prosecutor Geraldine Dickinson said: “He noticed that the driver was using a hand-held mobile phone. The device was being held in the left hand in front of themselves. He saw this from around three metres in good light without any obstructions for around 20 seconds.
“The driver was spoken to. It was confirmed the driver was not making an emergency contact to 999 and was using maps.”
Tugendhat had admitted to holding his phone at an earlier hearing but claimed he was not using it. In his guilty plea, submitted at a single justice procedure, Mr Tugendhat wrote: "I was holding my phone – not using it. After the incident I took a course to refresh and correct my driving.
"I accept my responsibility and recognise my culpability."
He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today (17) wearing a dark blue suit and light blue tie, where he was given six points on his licence. Tugendhat already has six points for two speeding offences for which he was given three each.
District Judge Jack McGarva said that meant that a driving ban was now inevitable.
He said: “It is a very serious offence using a mobile phone in any way, it is a distraction, and it impairs people’s ability to drive safely and I would expect you to set a good example to the rest of us.
“You have pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and I have given you full credit and I do appreciate the frankness of how the case was presented on your behalf in a very realistic way.”
On top of his six-month driving disqualification, Tugendhat, of Tregarvon Road, Clapham, was given a £1,000 fine and he must also pay a £100 surcharge and £110 in costs.
Tugendhat is a former soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was elected to Parliament in 2015 and ran to be prime minister after Boris Johnson’s resignation but lost out to Liz Truss.
