Tugendhat gets driving ban for holding phone at wheel
SECURITY minister Tom Tugendhat was yesterday banned from driving for six months after he was caught holding his phone at the wheel.
The MP, who stood for the Tory leadership after Boris Johnson stepped down in the summer, was driving his Skoda 4x4 in London when he was stopped by police in April, a court heard.
He told an officer he was using his phone to navigate, according to court papers. Tugendhat, 49, who already had six penalty points on his licence, admitted having his phone at the wheel, but claimed he was holding it and not using it.
The minister, from Clapham, south London, appeared for sentencing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. In a written guilty plea earlier, the MP for Tonbridge and Malling in Kent said: ‘I was holding my phone – not using it. After the incident I took a course to refresh and correct my driving.’ He added: ‘I accept my responsibility and recognise my culpability.’ Prosecutor Geraldine Dickinson told how a PC spotted the MP in Wandsworth, south London. She said: ‘He noticed that the driver was using a hand-held phone.’
Paul Morris, defending, said: ‘He co-operated fully with the police at the scene. He is aware that he will face a period of disqualification which will have an impact on him.’
District Judge Jack McGarva told the minister: ‘It is a serious offence – using a mobile phone in any way. It impairs people’s ability to drive safely. I would expect you to set a good example for the rest of us.’ Tugendhat was disqualified for six months and fined £1,000. His spokesman earlier said: ‘He apologises unreservedly.’
Hours before the sentencing, former soldier Tugendhat had addressed the issue of MPs’ mobile phones. Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle had warned MPs that their phones were ‘potential goldmine for hostile states’ seeking to harvest sensitive information.
Tugendhat, who is leading a Westminster taskforce to address threats to UK institutions, said: ‘Our democracy is under attack.’
‘You should set a good example’