Immigration Minister fined for mobile phone call
Discussion
Daily telegraph said:
Liam Byrne, the immigration minister, has been criticised by road safety campaigners after claiming he was taking an important work call when caught using his mobile phone while driving.
The 37-year-old MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill was stopped on the Tyburn Road in Birmingham in July after being spotted talking on the phone while behind the wheel.
In a letter to magistrates he said that he was taking a call about deportation but accepted that he should have pulled over to do so.
Mr Byrne, a former police officer, was fined £100 with £35 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
He was also given three points on his licence. Magistrates at Sutton Coldfield said that his penalty would have been £150, but was reduced because of Mr Byrne’s prompt guilty plea and expression of remorse.
advertisementA spokesman for The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) said: “The annoying thing is the implication that the minister’s phone call while driving was so important that he couldn’t pull over to take it.
“That is totally unacceptable: everybody who has a mobile phone, a car and a job could try to claim that by way of mitigation.
“It is imperative that ministers lead by example. If this call was so important, it should never have taken place at the wheel of the car.”
Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said Mr Byrne was setting a bad example.
He said: "The Home Office is responsible for the law and its Ministers should be well aware of it and set the correct example. Far too many lives have been lost needlessly because of mobile phone calls and whether you are on a hand-held or a hands-free phone you are four times more likely to crash.
"It is good to see him being treated in the same way as other motorists and it shows that people who flout this important law do get caught and punished."
Cynthia Barlow, chairman of crash victims’ charity RoadPeace, added: “He knew perfectly well he should have stopped and pulled over while making a call and he did not.
"I hope other people will use it as a reminder that you shouldn’t use a mobile phone while driving because many people still do."
Figures released by a road safety website earlier this week showed that a the public using a mobile phone at the wheel is one of the most common examples of bad driving. Since stricter penalties were introduced earlier this year, 1,119 drivers have been spotted using a mobile and reported to BetterDrivingPlease.com.
The website, which, allows anyone to report driving misdemeanors, says that nearly a quarter of all complaints involve a mobile phone.
Mr Byrne issued a statement later saying: "Talking on a phone without a hands free is wrong. I have apologised unreservedly to the Court.".
The 37-year-old MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill was stopped on the Tyburn Road in Birmingham in July after being spotted talking on the phone while behind the wheel.
In a letter to magistrates he said that he was taking a call about deportation but accepted that he should have pulled over to do so.
Mr Byrne, a former police officer, was fined £100 with £35 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
He was also given three points on his licence. Magistrates at Sutton Coldfield said that his penalty would have been £150, but was reduced because of Mr Byrne’s prompt guilty plea and expression of remorse.
advertisementA spokesman for The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) said: “The annoying thing is the implication that the minister’s phone call while driving was so important that he couldn’t pull over to take it.
“That is totally unacceptable: everybody who has a mobile phone, a car and a job could try to claim that by way of mitigation.
“It is imperative that ministers lead by example. If this call was so important, it should never have taken place at the wheel of the car.”
Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said Mr Byrne was setting a bad example.
He said: "The Home Office is responsible for the law and its Ministers should be well aware of it and set the correct example. Far too many lives have been lost needlessly because of mobile phone calls and whether you are on a hand-held or a hands-free phone you are four times more likely to crash.
"It is good to see him being treated in the same way as other motorists and it shows that people who flout this important law do get caught and punished."
Cynthia Barlow, chairman of crash victims’ charity RoadPeace, added: “He knew perfectly well he should have stopped and pulled over while making a call and he did not.
"I hope other people will use it as a reminder that you shouldn’t use a mobile phone while driving because many people still do."
Figures released by a road safety website earlier this week showed that a the public using a mobile phone at the wheel is one of the most common examples of bad driving. Since stricter penalties were introduced earlier this year, 1,119 drivers have been spotted using a mobile and reported to BetterDrivingPlease.com.
The website, which, allows anyone to report driving misdemeanors, says that nearly a quarter of all complaints involve a mobile phone.
Mr Byrne issued a statement later saying: "Talking on a phone without a hands free is wrong. I have apologised unreservedly to the Court.".
Hang on. While accepting that he was in the wrong 
He claimed that the phone call was regarding a "Deportation issue regarding an illegal immigrant".
Well, that's allright then surely. Dealing with matters far too important for the great unwashed to appreciate. Sack the oily, odious, self aggrandising tosser now.
He claimed that the phone call was regarding a "Deportation issue regarding an illegal immigrant". Well, that's allright then surely. Dealing with matters far too important for the great unwashed to appreciate. Sack the oily, odious, self aggrandising tosser now.
catso said:
Daily telegraph said:
"Far too many lives have been lost needlessly because of mobile phone calls"
Not condoning his actions but I wonder how many lives have actually been lost by this?.............Kevin Clinton head of road safety at The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said:
The Home Office is responsible for the law and its Ministers should be well aware of it and set the correct example. Far too many lives have been lost needlessly because of mobile phone calls and whether you are on a hand-held or a hands-free phone you are four times more likely to crash
So if we assume there are 1000 collisions in a typical day for non mobile phone users, if we all drove while using our mobile hands free kit there would be 4000 in a typical day 
... no I've had too many beers that can't be right - another blonde moment?I would dare to say no lives at all have been lost exclusively to using a mobile phone, not concentrating on the road yes very many have been lost, and talking whilst driving certainly doesn't aid concentration on the road, but it doesn't render you useless either if you make allowances for what you are doing and drive accordingly. I would agree that hands-free or hand-held carry the same risk if you choose not to concentrate on the road, yet only one is deemed punishable by the ass law.
This guy reminds me of Med Hughes! He knew he was safe doing what he was doing or he wouldn't have done it. Wouldn't it be great for one of them to have some backbone one day!
Edited by deeps on Sunday 4th November 01:25
catso said:
Daily telegraph said:
"Far too many lives have been lost needlessly because of mobile phone calls"
Not condoning his actions but I wonder how many lives have actually been lost by this?.............catso said:
Daily telegraph said:
"Far too many lives have been lost needlessly because of mobile phone calls"
Not condoning his actions but I wonder how many lives have actually been lost by this?.............Heebeegeetee said:
catso said:
Daily telegraph said:
"Far too many lives have been lost needlessly because of mobile phone calls"
Not condoning his actions but I wonder how many lives have actually been lost by this?.............Best wishes all,
Dave.
KenP said:
'Dealing with an important issue' is hardly mitigation, but surely an aggravating feature, since it requires undivided attention.
Not really. As mentioned above he was dealing with an important immigration issue. Now, whilst this is clearly very important - it doesn't take any thought whatsoever to say 'let him stay, give him a house and benefits and delete him from our records'.No more thought than shouting 'Oi, Moyles - you're a tw@t!' at the radio...
Heebeegeetee said:
Good point. I was watching a Police, Camera crash bang wallop programme t'other night, and the presenter referred to the roads as being 'highly dangerous'. I thought, excuse me, 99.9% of people don't have a problem and that makes them extremely dangerous?
What Police, Camera, PR - the political bias of the this programme is unbelievable.This weeks is an excellent example. Some snivellilng drink driver spouting the virtues of ANPR - The example they use - Some guy, ANPR pings back uninsured, driver protests innocent. Comment from BiB "As far as I am concerned he doesn't have insurance to I am taking the vehicle". Driver understanably getting vocal. Then right at the end of the clip the voice declares "it later transpired the driver was insured and no charges were brought" as if it was the drivers fault he lost his car.
and people wonder what the problem is with a database state? Of course as a completely innocent motorist he had nothing to hide so presumbly nothing to fear.
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