Minister Robert Jenrick disqualified from driving for six months for speeding

Mr Jenrick did not attend the hearing, which was held in a closed court, meaning the press and public could not attend it either.

A Government minister has been disqualified from driving for six months after travelling at almost 30mph over a temporary speed limit on the M1 last year.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick was also fined a total of £1,639 at a court hearing on Tuesday after previously admitting to travelling at 68mph in a temporary 40mph zone between junctions 18 and 17 on the southbound motorway last August, the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre said.

The case was dealt with through a Single Justice Procedure at Northampton Magistrates’ Court, which allows a magistrate to rule on criminal cases seen as minor in a closed court, meaning the public and press cannot attend.

They also allow defendants to plead guilty or not guilty in writing which meant that Mr Jenrick, 41, did not have to attend court in person.

Responding to the sentence, Mr Jenrick said: “I accept the court’s decision.

“I was driving below the national speed limit on an empty motorway, with no road works in sight.

“I now understand that a variable speed limit had been applied, which I didn’t see.

“I wouldn’t knowingly exceed the speed limit.”

The MP for Newark, in Nottinghamshire, was travelling after an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions at Wakefield Cathedral when he was caught by a speed camera in his Land Rover at around 11.30pm on August 5, the London Evening Standard reported.

The newspaper had previously said Mr Jenrick was fined £307 and handed three penalty points in March for speeding on the A40 in west London in August 2021.

He was fined £1,107 for the M1 offence and ordered to pay a £442 victim surcharge and £90 in costs.