a politician who is a hypocrite?
that is so unusual.....
can't imagine that they could really exist:
could this be a new oxymoron ?
"a hypocrite politician"

grindles, London, england

Is someone who has a criminal conviction eligble to be an MP??

dave, kent, england

This MUST be a sacking matter - even by New Labour standards.

BK, Edinburgh, Scotland

DON'T DO AS I DO, DO AS I SAY........

When is road safety not an issue ?
When it's New Labour of course !
More soap box rubbish from Labour.

I hope the constituents of Birmingham Hodge HIll take note at the next election !

John

John Shirley, Moseley,

He can join the rest of the hypocrites then. Try listing the hypocrisy in this Government and there wouldn't be enough hours in the day.

Nu Labour motto: -

'Do as I say, not as I do'

The hell I will.

Judy , Liverpool, england

37 and bald? He won't go much further..

Rob Kittle, London,

To answer the last question the voters in England did vote out New labour, but the people of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, big supporters of Britains welfare system overpowered the English vote.

The courts do add premiums to their fines don't they !

£100 fine for the offence plus 3 points for good measure, plus his insurance will be increased.
£30 costs, presumably the costs are for opening the doors and paying the staff to attend !

Finally, £15 victim costs. whats this fiddle for ? Is this for providing tea and biscuits for the bench.? Perhaps the new Chancellor could embellish the present charge by adding VAT and a victim court attendance charge, not payable of course if you are on benefits. Seems to me its about time the police started walking round car parks there are two million untaxed cars on British roads and its their job to stop it, if they can still remember !

Phil de Buquet, Newport, England

Let me get this right. The call was so important that he needed to take it immediately whilst driving but not so important that it required him to stop to give it his full attention? Hmmm, pretty fine line that defence ....

EB, Slough,

If the penalty is £60 why was he fined £100?

Ted, Alton,

The first time I saw Liam Byrne speak on TV in an exchange with Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight some weeks ago, my abiding impression was that he was a man not to be taken seriously. As is often the case with MPs, what came out of his mouth sounded unconvincing.
That initial, some might say unfair impression has now been substantially reinforced by this incident. Not so much the fact that he did what he did and was caught..... I have no doubt that everyone, myself included has made the same mistake; of answering a call whilst driving, even if it's to tell the caller that one can't speak because one is in the car. What really grates about Mr Byrne's behaviour is that he has compounded his error by trying to explain the nature of the call. The best policy as ever would have been to apologise without feeling the need to try to justify.
Franco, London

f l caramazza, london,

Why didn't he accept an on the spot fine.Surely he wasn't exspecting preferential treatment.

R.Hart, sutton coldfield, uk

The fines imposed are too light. This is a man who has pontificated at great length to the public he supposedly serves that using a mobile phone whilst driving is a serious offence, he went on to support heavier sentencing for those caught. This an obvious case of someone believing himself above the law because of his position, whereas, it should be the opposite, because of where he sits the sentence should be the maximum applicable.

It is little wonder that there is a growing lethargy among the voting populace when faced with the morally bankrupt antics of all the main parties.

The time has surely arrived when politicians are held accountable by an independent auditing body for their performance in office and their public behaviour.

George Hunter, marlow,

"...the Immigration Minister, told Sutton Coldfield magistrates’ court that he was taking an important call on a deportation matter at the time..." . The fact that this was even offered as an excuse speaks volumes for the man and the honesty/integrity lacking in this government and our police force . He may as well have tried the , but I was wearing a heavy coat at the time your Honour , approach .
For the record , I don't believe it was an important deportation call at all .

Benzo, Nr Chelmsford,

"Ministers are held to account just like anyone else". In this case maybe, but I am surprised the case went ahead given the manner in which cases seem to be avoided by those in senior positions in politics and the police.

John, Eastbourne, UK

"Ministers are held to account just like anyone else". In this case maybe, but I am surprised the case went ahead given the manner in which cases seem to be avoided by those in senior positions in politics, the judiciary and the police.
An example from today - 'A chief constable is being investigated over his force’s dismissal of child abuse allegations against a judge'.

John, Eastbourne, UK

As always: a case of do as I say, not as I do.

roger, london,

It is disappointing that the minister sought to explain or mitigate his dangerous and illegal actions by stating the nature of his telephone call.

This surely shows that he does not respect the law and is in denial of his crime.

Kevin, London,

The minister will batten down the hatches and ride out the storm as they usually do. The PM should move him from the Home Office.

Wiener, Vienna,

I believe it is a good sign that in our country, Ministers are held to account just like anyone else.

He has paid the fine and apologised, so let's applaud him for that.

Then please vote him out at the next election becasue I have had enough of this lot.....

Mohammed Hasan, Birmingham,

rules apply to everyone, including MPs!

Adrian Snape, Birmingham,