Zac Goldsmith, former UK environment minister and Conservative peer, has been banned from driving for one year after being caught speeding on seven separate occasions in 2023. Goldsmith, who admitted to all of the offences, was caught speeding in his hybrid electric Volkswagen Golf on London roads in Paddington, Chelsea and Twickenham between April and November last year. He was also caught exceeding speed limits on two motorways.
According to Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Goldsmith was caught driving at 29mph in a 20mph zone on Chelsea Embankment in April last year. He then drove at 28mph in a 20mph zone near Kensington Gardens in July. During the same year in May, August and November, he broke the 40mph limit on the A316 in Twickenham, driving at 46mph twice and once at 47mph. Additionally, he was caught driving at 62mph in a 50mph zone at the M25 intersection with the M3 in December and at 73mph between junctions 20 and 19 of the M4 in September, breaking a 50mph temporary speed limit.
Goldsmith was also fined £5,500 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £700. District Judge Daniel Sternberg, who disqualified the Tory environmentalist from driving, highlighted the impact of drivers who speed on the environment stating that even in hybrid and electric cars, drivers who speed “emit more harmful emissions”. Goldsmith who served as a minister in Boris Johnson’s cabinet and unsuccessfully contested the London mayoral race in 2016 did not attend the hearing.
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