Policing tsar broke speed limit 5 times in 3 months
A POLICE boss who pledged to tackle speeding was banned from the road yesterday for repeatedly breaking a 30mph limit.
Caroline Henry was caught speeding five times in less than three months, including two offences on consecutive days.
The Tory police and crime commissioner (PCC) for Nottinghamshire was banned for six months and fined £2,450.
She immediately faced calls to resign, with Nottingham South Labour MP Lilian Greenwood saying her conduct was ‘outrageous’.
‘The public deserve better – it’s untenable for her to continue in her role,’ said Miss Greenwood.
Outside Nottingham Magistrates’ Court yesterday, Henry declined to comment when asked by reporters if she would quit, saying she was committed to her role as PCC.
She was caught speeding in a blue Mercedes and a silver Lexus with a personalised number plate in 30mph zones at four locations in Nottingham in March, May and June last year.
The 52-year-old was captured over the speed limit twice near a primary school in the city.
Speed cameras clocked the PCC’s speed as high as 40mph in a 30mph zone, with others recorded at 35mph and 38mph.
District Judge Leo Pyle said of the offences: ‘What they show is that you are driving at consistent speeds above the speed limits.
‘Whether that was due to work or during your private time, you must allow time to get to your destination safely. Speed limit [cameras] are sited... not at places where they can issue maximum amounts in fines but for safety reasons.’
Henry, of Giltbrook, Nottinghamshire, who was elected as PCC in May 2021, admitted the offences at a previous hearing in February – the same month she launched a plan to tackle ‘neighbourhood priorities’ including speeding.
The court heard a driving ban would affect Henry’s ability to visit her child in hospital in Salisbury, Wiltshire, as there was no public transport option.
But the judge dismissed her application to keep her driving licence due to ‘exceptional hardship’, telling Henry that her husband, Broxtowe MP Darren Henry, could ‘facilitate’ the journey.
There were comments on her Facebook page yesterday suggesting she had lost credibility and should resign.
And a statement on Nottingham Labour’s Twitter page read: ‘If she was truly sorry she would resign.’
Outside the court yesterday, Henry said: ‘I am truly sorry for speeding. Quite properly I’ve been fined and banned from driving for six months.’
‘If she was sorry she would resign’