Tory peer Zac Goldsmith has been banned from driving and order to pay £8,200 after he was caught speeding 11 times in less than two years.
The former environment minister, 49, was sentenced at Westminster magistrates court on Monday over a slew of criminal charges brought against him.
Goldsmith racked up 12 penalty points on his licence over four speeding incidents between May 2022 and March last year. He was punished with fixed penalty fines and points on his licence, but was not disqualified from driving.
After being spared a ban, Goldsmith was clocked speeding a further seven times between May to December last year.
District Judge Daniel Sternberg sentenced Goldsmith to fines totalling £5,500 for the latest seven offences, plus a £2000 victim surcharge and costs of £700.
He banned Goldsmith from driving for the next 12 months.
The court heard he was first caught out travelling in VW Golf at 29mph in a 20mph zone in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, on April 27 last year.
A month later, on May 31, the peer was clocked at 47mph ina 40mph zone in Twickenham, west London, and he was caught again on July 18 onthe A402 in Paddington.
On August 3, Goldsmith broke the 40mph limit on the samestretch of road in Twickenham, going 47, and he was caught at 75mph in a temporary 50mph limit on the M4 on September 30.
On November 10 in Feltham he was caught on 46mph in a 40mph zone, and the final offence was speeding at 62mph in a 50mph zone on the M25 on December 14.
The judge said speeding puts offending drivers “and all other road users at risk”, and he noted the illegal practice “generates more harmful emissions”.
Goldsmith was initially prosecuted through the Single Justice Procedure, with court papers showing Lord Goldsmith admitted he had been behind the wheel when his car was caught speeding.
The politician pleaded guilty in writing, and the case was moved to open court as he faced the prospect of an automatic ban.
He was given an interim driving ban by a District Judge in January, when the case was adjourned for allhis offences to be brought together.
A lawyer for the peer said he has an “acceptance of guilty and an anxiety to ensure he is not brought before the court again”.
In 2014, Goldsmith was banned from driving after being caught speeding three times in the space of three months.
Lord Goldsmith ran unsuccessfully to be London Mayor in 2016, when he was defeated by Sadiq Khan.
He served as a minister in Boris Johnson’s government after being elevated tothe House of Lords as Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park.
