Naughtie given 12-month road ban for drink driving home
JAMES NAUGHTIE, the former presenter of BBC Radio Four’s Today programme, has been banned from driving after he was caught while over the drink-drive limit.
Naughtie, 69, was spotted getting into his car by pub staff after he had stopped off for a glass of wine at Bennet’s Bar in Morningside, Edinburgh.
The award-winning Scots journalist was traced to his nearby home by police and admitted he had been driving his vehicle that afternoon in October 2019.
He was asked to provide a roadside breath test and was found to have 35mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 22mg of alcohol.
The retired radio news anchor appeared in the dock at Edinburgh
Sheriff Court last Tuesday under his full name of Alexander James Naughtie where he pleaded guilty to driving while over the limit.
Solicitor Sean Flanagan, defending, said his client had been driving to his Edinburgh home and decided to stop off at the public house “for one glass of wine”. The lawyer added Naughtie had only driven “a relatively short distance” from the bar to his home and had cooperated fully with police.
Sheriff Peter Mccormack fined Naughtie a total of £500 and banned him from driving for 12 months.
The sheriff said Naughtie would be allowed to take part in a drink-drive rehabilitation scheme if he chooses which, if passed successfully, would see his road ban reduced by three months.
The father-of-three retired as an anchor for the Today show after 21 years but continues to appear as a special correspondent.