Security minister Tom Tugendhat banned from driving over phone use

Security curate and Tory MP Tom Tugendhat has been banned from driving for six months aft helium was caught driving with his mobile telephone successful his hand.

The MP for Tonbridge and Malling, who lives successful Clapham, was caught driving with the instrumentality successful London connected 14 April.

Judge Jack McGarva said astatine Westminster Magistrates' Court: "Using a mobile telephone successful immoderate mode is simply a distraction.

"Without immoderate uncertainty it impairs people's quality to drive."

He told the politician: "I would expect you to acceptable a bully illustration for the remainder of us."

Geraldine Dickinson, prosecuting, told the tribunal a constabulary serviceman pulled implicit the MP successful Wandsworth High Street and saw the telephone successful his near hand.

She said the serviceman confirmed Mr Tugendhat was not utilizing the telephone to telephone exigency services and "it was confirmed that they were utilizing maps".

Defending, Paul Morris said his lawsuit accepted helium would look a driving prohibition and did not connection immoderate mitigation of "exceptional hardship" that would beryllium caused by the ban.

Mr Tugendhat, who antecedently stood for person of the Conservative Party, received six points connected his licence for the offence, added to the six helium already had for 2 erstwhile driving offences.

He was besides ordered to wage a £1,000 fine, a surcharge of £100 and costs of £110.

Previously, helium had submitted a written blameworthy plea to Bromley magistrates successful which helium told the tribunal that aft the incidental helium had taken a people to refresh and close his driving.

He attended an precocious driving people successful May and was assessed arsenic debased risk, but the offence was sent for prosecution due to the fact that helium already had points connected his record.