LONDON: UK home secretary Suella Braverman is under pressure as it was claimed in a media report on Sunday that she attempted to dodge a driving fine after being caught speeding outside London when she was Attorney General of the country last year.
Sunday Times reported that the Indian-origin Cabinet minister asked civil servants to help her avoid a speeding fine and points on her driving licence by arranging a private one-to-one driving awareness course. In the UK, anyone caught speeding is handed a fine and penalty points on their licence unless they sign up to an awareness course held in group sessions or online. A spokesperson for the home secretary said she “accepts she was speeding last summer and regrets doing so”.
“She took the three points (on her licence) and paid the fine last year,” the spokesperson said. The issue has been dominating headlines in the UK as opposition parties demand a probe into the matter. “I don’t know the details of what has happened nor have I spoken to the home secretary,” said PM Rishi Sunak said in response to a media inquiry. “I understand that she’s expressed regret… and paid the fine.”
However, Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper called it “shocking” that Braverman had reportedly tried to bend the normal process for speeding drivers. She called for an “urgent investigation” into whether the home secretary had breached the ministerial code.
Sunday Times reported that the Indian-origin Cabinet minister asked civil servants to help her avoid a speeding fine and points on her driving licence by arranging a private one-to-one driving awareness course. In the UK, anyone caught speeding is handed a fine and penalty points on their licence unless they sign up to an awareness course held in group sessions or online. A spokesperson for the home secretary said she “accepts she was speeding last summer and regrets doing so”.
“She took the three points (on her licence) and paid the fine last year,” the spokesperson said. The issue has been dominating headlines in the UK as opposition parties demand a probe into the matter. “I don’t know the details of what has happened nor have I spoken to the home secretary,” said PM Rishi Sunak said in response to a media inquiry. “I understand that she’s expressed regret… and paid the fine.”
However, Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper called it “shocking” that Braverman had reportedly tried to bend the normal process for speeding drivers. She called for an “urgent investigation” into whether the home secretary had breached the ministerial code.