To receive timely updates on breaking news directly to your email inbox, register for our free breaking news email notifications.
Register for our complimentary email notifications for breaking news.
Zac Goldsmith, a previous minister of the environment, has been prohibited from operating a vehicle for one year following his repeated instances of speeding last year.
The 48-year-old member of the Conservative party received a ban from driving due to breaking speed limits while driving a hybrid electric Volkswagen Golf on roads in Paddington, Chelsea, and Twickenham from April to August 2023.
During today’s hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, it was revealed that he has been caught speeding on two separate occasions on motorways, with the most recent incident occurring in December.
On 27 April 2023, he was caught travelling along Chelsea Embankment at 29mph, despite the limit being 20mph, according to court papers.
On May 31st, just over a month later, the conservative supporter of environmental causes was traveling at 46mph on the A316 in Twickenham, where the speed limit is 40mph. He was later found to be speeding again on the same road on August 3rd, this time going 47mph.
In 2023, Lord Goldsmith was caught driving an electric vehicle at a speed above the legal limit on four separate occasions.
On July 18th, a month prior to the August incident, Lord Goldsmith was driving at a speed of 28mph on Bayswater Road, which has a limit of 20mph, near Kensington Gardens.
In December, he was caught driving at 62mph in a 50mph zone at M25 intersection with M3. In September, he was also caught going 73mph between junctions 20 and 19 of M4, breaking a temporary speed limit of 50mph.
Benjamin Waidhofer, defending, said Lord Goldsmith had shown “remorse” for his offending and is “not someone who is manifestly defying the usual speed limits”.
After admitting to all of the crimes, the peer was charged a fine of £5,500 and also required to pay a surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £700.
He is the most recent prominent figure to face legal action through the single justice procedure, which was implemented in 2015 to permit confidential court proceedings and resolve cases solely through written evidence.
In 2016, Lord Goldsmith was an unsuccessful candidate for London Mayor against Sadiq Khan of the Labour party.
He was appointed to the House of Lords as Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park before serving as a minister in Boris Johnson’s government.
However, he eventually stepped down from his position in Rishi Sunak’s government in June 2023 due to what he saw as a lack of concern for the environment.
Source: independent.co.uk
