Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

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simonhill
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Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
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Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by simonhill »

The BBC has reported that Tom Tugendhat has been caught using his mobile phone while driving. He already has 6 points, so could face a ban.........but

"The case, first revealed by the Evening Standard, is due to be dealt with at Bromley Magistrates' Court on Friday under the single justice procedure, where prosecutions are heard in private."

Weren't the Government cracking down on mobiles while driving???

Mr T was caught in April. Since then he has stood for Prime Minister and accepted a job in the Home Office as Security Minister.

He says he is sorry for doing it (and no doubt his mum says he is a very naughty boy). Nonetheless seeing as his boss only had to say sorry for serious breaches of security and breaching the Official Secrets Act, he should be OK.
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Cugel
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Re: Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by Cugel »

simonhill wrote: 4 Nov 2022, 8:55am The BBC has reported that Tom Tugendhat has been caught using his mobile phone while driving. He already has 6 points, so could face a ban.........but

"The case, first revealed by the Evening Standard, is due to be dealt with at Bromley Magistrates' Court on Friday under the single justice procedure, where prosecutions are heard in private."

Weren't the Government cracking down on mobiles while driving???

Mr T was caught in April. Since then he has stood for Prime Minister and accepted a job in the Home Office as Security Minister.

He says he is sorry for doing it (and no doubt his mum says he is a very naughty boy). Nonetheless seeing as his boss only had to say sorry for serious breaches of security and breaching the Official Secrets Act, he should be OK.
No doubt he was "making a very important call, as I was in the army you know", so risking a few pedestrians and cyclists (not to mention various dogs and cats and hedgehogs) is absolutely justifiable. After all, they're only second-raters of no use whatsoever to a sovereign individual of prestige, power and wealth.

Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
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MikeF
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Re: Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by MikeF »

"It takes a genius to spot the obvious" - my old physics master.
I don't peddle bikes.
thirdcrank
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Re: Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by thirdcrank »

Security minister Tom Tugendhat denies using phone while driving

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-63573882
In a written guilty plea, the Tonbridge and Malling MP said he was holding the phone but not using it and had later taken a driving course.

His case has been sent for a full hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court to consider disqualification.

The Met had sent the MP a conditional offer of a fixed penalty notice and Mr Tugendhat agreed to pay the fine and surrender his licence, court papers showed.

The offence was sent to court because the politician already had six points on his record.

Bromley Magistrates' Court heard the case in private under the single justice procedure.

In his guilty plea, Mr Tugendhat wrote: "I was holding my phone - not using it. After the incident I took a course to refresh and correct my driving.

"I accept my responsibility and recognise my culpability."
While literally correct, that headline seems to imply wrongly that he contested the charge. Anyway, a driving ban is now to be considered at a magistrates' court in the normal way.

So, it seems he's been dealt with in the normal way at every stage
mumbojumbo
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Re: Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by mumbojumbo »

And he seemed so nice at those hustings. Double standards once again ..A spell inside would reorientate his perspective.
thirdcrank
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Re: Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by thirdcrank »

Security minister Tom Tugendhat banned from driving over phone use

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-63662624

In terms of the criminal law, it looks as though he has not enjoyed beneficial treatment.

In terms of his political career, it's anybody's guess. Lobby your own MP and if he's your MP lobby him very hard.
mumbojumbo
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Re: Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by mumbojumbo »

Can we expect to see him on the no 13 from Waterloo to Golder's Green?
Dingdong
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Re: Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by Dingdong »

mumbojumbo wrote: 13 Nov 2022, 6:55pm And he seemed so nice at those hustings. Double standards once again ..A spell inside would reorientate his perspective.
A touch of his own medicine would do him good!
jimster99
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Joined: 18 Jun 2012, 7:00pm

Re: Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by jimster99 »

As a dual cyclist & car driver, I think both the law & enforcement of mobile restrictions has become a nonsense:

- The law allows dangerous activities e.g. using a mobile phone while it's in a dashboard mount (how does that make it any safer?)
- The law conversely punishes relatively harmless activities. For instance, last week my toddler son in the back seat dropped his tablet on the ground and started screaming. I stopped (with handbrake on) at a long traffic light. If I reach back and pass the device back to him, boom, 6 points on your licence!
- The law is also confusing for many. For instance, if the engine is switched off, can you use a handheld mobile device? What if it's an auto-stop engine and you're in traffic? (Answer: 6 points for you!)
- In practice, hardly anyone gets caught. On every journey I spot drivers weaving around around while fiddling with their phone and I have NEVER seen any of them getting pulled.

I do think the priority should be on actually reducing mobile use instead of harsher and harsher punishments for the tiny minority who do get detected (and I think the harshness is way over the top - e.g. a black cab driver caught once risks losing their licence if caught even if they've only ever done it once in their entire life).

I'm not sure what the answer is but I think the police need to figure out a much more efficient way to find a much higher proportion of mobile users and then educate them (so find all the mobile users, and then give them one or two warning letters). That would sort out almost everyone. And THEN you start cracking down on the small proportion of numpties who are still knowingly flouting the law.

And if you can quickly find the people who are still using their phones after being given a couple of warnings AND a small penalty then a DQ seems entirely appropriate since they are the really dangerous people.
Jdsk
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Re: Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by Jdsk »

One of the contributors to decreased use is appropriate technology.

Many of you will already have smart 'phones that have a driving mode. Mine is activated automatically:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208090

And there are a couple of references in the 2030 Euro NCAP Vision, under detection of inattention and tracking of 'phone use:
https://www.euroncap.com/en/press-media ... -mobility/

Jonathan
Dingdong
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Re: Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by Dingdong »

Flogging too good for 'em!
arnsider
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Re: Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by arnsider »

One problem with mobile phones and driving is the fact that employers, managers and despatchers make calls to their mobile staff regardless of what the staff are doing. They are as much of a danger as the idiots that take their calls.
ken66
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Joined: 28 May 2015, 10:14pm

Re: Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by ken66 »

arnsider wrote:One problem with mobile phones and driving is the fact that employers, managers and despatchers make calls to their mobile staff regardless of what the staff are doing. They are as much of a danger as the idiots that take their calls.
Prior to retirement I was an operational engineer for a regional electricity company. For a brief period of time senior management issued an edict “Engine on, phone off”. Very commendable I hear you say. The only problem was two minutes after setting off on an hours journey to a remote location, changed circumstances could require you to go in the opposite direction. The result would be an additional 2 hours travelling time to the revised location. If the new location was for supply restoration after a fault the phone off policy was nonsense.
Ayseven
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Joined: 31 Jul 2021, 4:15am

Re: Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by Ayseven »

Why is he driving himself around? I thought Tories were the experts at feeding at the public trough.
rmurphy195
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Re: Home Office Minister Caught Using Mobile Phone (Tom Tugendhat)

Post by rmurphy195 »

I love this.

Conservative MP, minister or what have you - labelled as Tory all over the place, mass hysteria almost.

Non-Tory MP claiming expenses for drugs - just his name appears in the BEEB headlines, not his party (or ex-party).

No reporting bias of course ...
Brompton, Condor Heritage, creaky joints and thinning white (formerly grey) hair
""You know you're getting old when it's easier to ride a bike than to get on and off it" - quote from observant jogger !
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