Former UK Transport Minister’s Shocking Admission After Phone Use Fine Sparks Debate: ‘I Was in Traffic’

A former UK transport minister said he took ‘full responsibility’ after he was caught using his phone while driving.

The actions of Conservative MP George Freeman led to a fine and six penalty points on his licence.

He had been spotted checking his mobile phone while behind the wheel by a cyclist who then reported him to the police.

The Mid Norfolk MP pleaded guilty at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on 1 September to using a handheld mobile phone while driving.

The Mirror reported that he was fined £430, as well as having to pay a surcharge of £172 to support justice services and £130 in costs to the Metropolitan Police.

The MP said he had been checking a navigation app on the device while he was waiting in stationary traffic.

He told the newspaper: “I was sitting in gridlocked traffic and checking Waze on my phone.

“I took full responsibility and deeply regret my actions.”

Norfolk MP George Freeman apologised (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

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.

In a blog post, he said he quit his role ‘because my mortgage rises this month from £800pcm to £2,000, which I simply couldn’t afford to pay on a ministerial salary’.

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.