// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Former transport minister used phone while driving
George Freeman MP said he takes "full responsibility" for the driving offence
A former transport minister says he "deeply regrets" using a mobile phone while driving after he was fined and awarded six penalty points on his licence.
George Freeman, the Conservative MP for Mid Norfolk, pleaded guilty to the offence at Stratford Magistrates' Court in London on 1 September.
He was fined £430 and told to pay a surcharge of £172 to support justice services, as well as £130 in costs to the Metropolitan Police.
The MP said he was checking a navigation app while stuck in traffic.
Freeman, who served as transport minister under Boris Johnson between July 2019 and February 2020, said: "I was sitting in gridlocked traffic and checking Waze on my phone.
"I took full responsibility and deeply regret my actions."
He was seen checking his phone behind the wheel by a cyclist, who reported him to the police, the court heard.
The MP has spent 16 years in Parliament, having first being elected to represent Mid Norfolk in 2010, and held a number of ministerial positions when the Tories were in power.
The 59-year-old previously said he quit as science minister in 2023 because he could not afford rising mortgage repayments on a ministerial salary of nearly £120,000.