Tory minister Tom Tugendhat banned for ‘looking at maps’ while driving

Security minister Tom Tugendhat was banned from driving for six months and fined £1,000  after he was caught using his mobile phone at the wheel.

The Tory MP, who stood for the Tory leadership after Boris Johnson stepped down, apologised for breaking the law while driving his black Skoda Kodiaq in Wandsworth.

The Conservative MP for Tonbridge and Malling, 49, told a police officer he was using maps on his phone to navigate while driving.

In entering a guilty plea to using a handheld mobile device while driving Tugendhat insisted: ‘I was holding my phone – not using it.’

In a handwritten plea statement Tugendhat said: ‘After the incident I took a course to refresh and correct my driving.

‘I accept my responsibility and recognise my culpability.’

He had also sent the court a copy of his driving course report, in which an instructor praised him as a ‘well-balanced driver’ who observes road rules and speed limits.

Tugendhat’s case was due to be dealt with at Bromley Magistrates’ Court earlier this month under the single justice procedure, where prosecutions are heard in private.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today (thurs) wearing a navy suit, white shirt and blue tie, speaking to confirm his name and address in Clapham.

Prosecutor Geraldine Dickinson told how PC Joseph Robson spotted the MP using his mobile phone while driving just after 2.30pm in Wandsworth High Street on April 14.

‘The device was being held in the left hand.

‘The vehicle was stopped and the driver was spoken to.

‘It was confirmed that they weren’t making an emergency contact to 999’

Paul Morris, defending Tugendhat, said: ‘He accepts the prosecution facts as they are.

‘He cooperated 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 an example to the rest of us in terms of your conduct.’

Tugendhat was disqualified from driving for six month and fined £1,000.

He will also have to pay a £100 surcharge and £110 towards the prosecution costs.

The Met Police had said Tugendhat tried to pay a fine over the incident when first contacted in April.

But the minister already had six points on his licence at the time of the incident and the matter had to go to court as a driving ban was a possible outcome.

A spokesperson for Tugendhat had said: ‘Tom was stopped by police in April this year for holding his phone while driving. He accepts that holding his phone while driving is an offence. Tom immediately put himself on a driving course of his own volition.

‘He received the court documents six months later and has entered a guilty plea. He apologises unreservedly and will accept the outcome of the case.’

Tugendhat informed the Home Office permanent secretary about the driving offence after he was appointed as a minister in September.

He was appointed to the Home Office role by Liz Truss and retained by Rishi Sunak.