MP banned for no insurance

Bolton South East Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi has been banned from driving for six months after pleading guilty to using her mobile phone while driving and having no insurance, the BBC reports.

Bolton Magistrates Court was told she was stopped by police in Wigan Road, Bolton on 10 May for the phone use. Her insurance had expired. She already had nine points. She was given six more and banned as well as fined £1,250 plus costs.

She is a former barrister and human rights lawyer and become only the second Asian woman to be elected to Parliament on 6 May.

Thought insurance renewed automatically

Ajmal Hussain, defending, said Qureshi had not deliberately avoided paying for insurance. She thought the policy had been rolled over, as in previous years, but it had not been.

Magistrate Elaine Wisedale said: "No insurance is a serious offence but because of the evidence that in previous years she's been insured and we accept there may have been an oversight, this, with the relatively early guilty plea, we are prepared to reduce the fine.

"Her licence will be endorsed for each offence and she will be disqualified from driving from today under totting up, for six months."

In a statement Qureshi said: "I believed I was covered and I am continuing to speak to my insurance company about this matter."