Former transport minister fined for using phone while driving

A former transport minister said he took “full responsibility” after being caught using his phone while driving. Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman was seen using the device by a cyclist who reported him to the police, according to The Mirror. The Conservative politician pleaded guilty to the offence at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on September 1. He was reportedly fined £430 and given six penalty points on his licence. He was also ordered to pay a surcharge of £172 to justice services and £130 to the Metropolitan Police.

The MP said he had been checking a navigation app while stuck in traffic in an undisclosed location. He told The Mirror: “I was sitting in gridlocked traffic and checking Waze on my phone. I took full responsibility and deeply regret my actions.” Mr Freeman served as Transport Minister from 2019 to 2020. Credit: PA Mr Freeman, who has represented Mid Norfolk since 2010, held a number of ministerial positions under Tory former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.

He said he quit as science minister in 2023 because he could not afford rising mortgage repayments on a ministerial salary of nearly £120,000. The move allowed him to make more money outside of government, on top of his MP’s salary of £86,584, by taking on second jobs. He became a paid adviser with GHGSat, a monitoring service for greenhouse gas emissions, in April 2024. Last year, he was suspended from his role as a government trade envoy for Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Brunei after he referred himself to the parliamentary watchdog following claims that he was paid by a company that helped him write questions to government departments.

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