HOME Office minister Liam Byrne pleaded guilty today to using a mobile phone while driving.
Byrne told the court in a letter he was taking an important call on a deportation matter at the time.
He was fined £100 with £35 costs and a £15 victim surcharge at Sutton Coldfield magistrates' court. He also had three points added to his licenc
e.
Cynthia Barlow, chairwoman of crash victims' charity RoadPeace, said: "It's the law that you should not use a mobile phone while driving and he knew perfectly well he should have stopped and pulled over while making a call.
"The law is just taking its course as it should.
"But I hope other people will use it as a reminder that you shouldn't use a mobile phone while driving."
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said Mr Byrne should have known better.
Kevin Clinton, head of road safety, said: "The Home Office is responsible for the law and its ministers should be well aware of it and set the correct example.
"Far too many lives have been lost needlessly because of mobile phone calls and whether you are on a hand-held or a hands-free phone you are four times more likely to crash.
"It is good to see him being treated in the same way as other motorists and it shows that people who flout this important law do get caught and punished.
"Mobile phone calls are still costing lives on our road. People should switch off their mobiles when they get into their cars so they will not be tempted to answer an incoming call."
The Home Office declined to comment.
Figures released by a road safety website earlier this week showed drivers continue to flout the law and use handheld mobile phones while behind the wheel.
Since stricter penalties were introduced earlier this year, 1119 drivers have been spotted using a mobile and reported to BetterDrivingPlease.com.
On Monday a motorist was jailed for two years for causing the death of an 80-year-old pedestrian while fiddling with her mobile phone at the wheel.
Anne Foster-Chia, 44, denied she was using her phone at the time of the accident, but was convicted at Sheffield Crown Court of causing death by dangerous driving.
The full article contains 388 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
