Banned, £100m Tory MP caught texting at wheel even after police told him to stop
ONE of Britain’s richest MPs was banned from driving for sending a text message from his mobile phone at the wheel of his BMW after ignoring a warning by police.
Richard Benyon, 57, the Tory MP for Newbury, Berkshire, said to be worth £ 110million, admitted the offence in a letter to magistrates.
He already had six points on his licence after two previous speeding offences and is now barred from driving for a year.
Prosecutor Beata Murphy said the MP was initially spotted by a police motorcyclist in queuing traffic.
‘Mr Benyon had his mobile phone in his lap and was using his thumb to send a text message,’ she said.
The officer riding a marked police motorbike told the MP that he should not be using his phone while driving but, as the car was stationary in the jam, decided to let him go with a warning.
However, magistrates heard, when the vehicles started moving off, the police officer realised Benyon was still texting on his phone with his thumb despite being told not to.
Benyon was then stopped, cautioned and told he would be reported for the offence at 10am in Islington, North London, in April.
Magistrates heard that the MP believed he was not committing an offence by texting because his car was stationary.
But he pleaded guilty after being summonsed to court and was fined £306 with £85 costs and a £30 victim surcharge fee, a total of £421.
Benyon lives with his second wife Zoe and other relatives at Englefield House, near Theale, Berkshire, on a walled estate of 20,000 acres with farmland, woodland and a model village. The Benyons also have land and property interests in London and Scotland.
In his letter to the court, the MP said he earns £3,987 a month. Under new legislation, using a mobile phone while driving receives an automatic six penalty points.
Magistrates were told Benyon already had six points on his driving licence, three each from speeding offences in October 2014 and September 2015.
The texting offence took him to 12 points under the totting up system, which normally triggers a ban.
During the 20-minute hearing, the court in Willesden, North London, heard but rejected an appeal for Benyon not to be disqualified.
In a statement issued from his House of Commons office, he said: ‘I deeply regret my actions and entirely accept the verdict of the court. There is absolutely no excuse for texting whilst driving – even in stationary and very heavy, slow traffic as was the situation in my case.’
Elected in 2005, he is the greatgreat grandson of three-times Tory Prime Minister Lord Salisbury and can trace his ancestry back to William Cecil, chief political adviser to Elizabeth I.
Benyon also served as an officer for four years in the Royal Green Jackets, including postings to Northern Ireland and the Far East.
‘There is absolutely no excuse’