Security minister Tom Tugendhat given six-month driving ban

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The UK security minister, Tom Tugendhat, has been banned from driving for six months after being caught driving with his mobile phone in his hand.

The Conservative MP for Tonbridge and Malling was stopped by police in his Skoda 4×4 in Wandsworth on 14 April.

Tugendhat, who lives in Clapham, south-west London, appeared for a sentencing hearing at Westminster magistrates court on Thursday.

The judge, Jack McGarva, said: “Using a mobile phone in any way is a distraction. Without any doubt it impairs people’s ability to drive. I would expect you to set a good example for the rest of us.”

Geraldine Dickinson, prosecuting, told the court that Tugendhat was pulled over by police on Wandsworth high street after an officer spotted that the MP’s phone was in his left hand.

“He noticed that the driver was using a handheld phone,” she said. “The device was being held in the driver’s left hand. He saw this in broad daylight for around 20 seconds.”

She said the officer confirmed that Tugendhat was not using the phone to call the emergency services. “It was confirmed that they were using maps,” she said.

Paul Morris, defending, said his client accepted he would receive a driving ban. He did not offer any mitigation of “exceptional hardship” that would be caused by Tugendhat being banned from driving.

Tugendhat received six penalty points on his driver’s licence for the offence, added to the six he already had for two previous driving offences – leading to him being banned for six months. The security minister also received a ?1,000 fine and was ordered to pay a surcharge of ?100 and costs of ?110.

Tugendhat, who previously stood for leader of the Conservative party, admitted the offence earlier this month but claimed he had not been using the phone at the time.

In a written guilty plea to Bromley magistrates court, which heard the case in private under the single justice procedure, the politician said: “I was holding my phone, not using it. After the incident I took a course to refresh and correct my driving.

“I have included the result of the course. Please accept the course report. I accept my responsibility and recognise my culpability.”

The Metropolitan police sent Tugendhat a conditional offer of a fixed penalty notice in April, and he agreed to pay the fine and surrender his driving licence, according to court papers. He also attended an advanced driving course in May, where he was assessed as low risk.

But the offence was sent to court for prosecution owing to the six penalty points already on his driving record.