- MP Tom Tugendhat was caught driving with his cell phone in his hand.
- The device was found in the car of the MP for Tonbridge and Malling, who lives in Clapham.
- He was also given a £1,000 fine and banned from driving for six months.
Tom Tugendhat, who is in charge of security and is a Tory MP, can’t drive for six months because he was caught driving with his cell phone in his hand.
On April 14, the device was found in the car of the MP for Tonbridge and Malling, who lives in Clapham.
At the Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Judge Jack McGarva said, “Using a cell phone in any way is a distraction.
“Without any doubt it impairs people’s ability to drive.”
He told the politician: “I would expect you to set a good example for the rest of us.”
The prosecutor, Geraldine Dickinson, told the court that the MP was pulled over on Wandsworth High Street, and a police officer saw the phone in his left hand.
She said the officer told her Mr. Tugendhat wasn’t using the phone to call for help, and “it was confirmed that they were using maps.”
Paul Morris, who was defending his client, said that the man knew he would be banned from driving and didn’t offer any proof that the ban would cause “exceptional hardship.”
Mr. Tugendhat, who ran for leader of the Conservative Party in the past, got six points added to his licence for this offence. He already had six points for two other driving offences.
He was also given a £1,000 fine, a £100 surcharge, and £110 in costs.
He had already given a written guilty plea to the Bromley magistrates, in which he told the court that he had taken a driving course after the accident to improve his skills.
He took an advanced driving course in May and was judged to be a low risk, but because he already had points on his record, the crime was sent to court.
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