Penny Mordaunt caught speeding in her Mini becomes latest Tory MP to be fined

Tristan Kirk
·2 min read
Mordaunt was convicted of speeding last week, and was fined £568 (PA Wire)
Mordaunt was convicted of speeding last week, and was fined £568 (PA Wire)

Commons leader Penny Mordaunt is the latest senior Tory to fall foul of the law after she was convicted of speeding in south-west London.

The Cabinet minister, 49, admitted breaking the 40mph speed limit in Putney in July, just days before she mounted her first attempt to become Prime Minister.

At court last week, Mordaunt was convicted of the offence, fined £568, and ordered by a magistrate to pay £90 in costs and a £227 victim surcharge. She also had three penalty points added to her licence. Her conviction is the latest legal difficulty to befall senior Conservatives in recent months, just as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak marked his 100-day milestone in No10.

Security minister Tom Tugendhat was banned from driving for six months last November after he was caught using his mobile phone at the wheel. Tory grandee Lord Soames is facing a possible driving ban after his own speeding conviction, and Sunak himself paid a £100 fixed penalty notice last month after he appeared in a social media video riding in the back of a car without a seatbelt on, prompting police intervention and a humbling apology from the Prime Minister.

It follows fixed penalties being issued to Sunak as chancellor and former PM Boris Johnson last year in the partygate scandal over a Covid rule-breaking gathering in Downing Street.

Mordaunt’s case was dealt with behind-closed-doors in the single justice procedure at Lavender Hill magistrates’ court after she entered a guilty plea in writing. According to court papers, Mordaunt admitted driving a Mini Cooper S at 49mph along the A3 near Tibbet’s Corner in Putney, and was caught on a speed camera at 9.39am on July 4 last year.

The offence happened just days before Boris Johnson quit as Prime Minister, sparking a leadership race featuring Mordaunt, Tugendhat, Nadhim Zahawi, Sunak and won by Liz Truss.

Mordaunt made a second bid for the leadership after the fall of Truss, but was defeated by Sunak, who kept her on in his Cabinet.

Mordaunt also played a key role in the accession of King Charles in her role as Lord President of the Council.

Her office has been contacted for comment.

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