Andy Burnham slapped with hefty fine and six points for speeding at 78mph

Manchester mayor and former Labour leader contender Andy Burnham has been clocked doing almost twice the speed limit on a motorway. He has been hit with a bill of almost £2,000 after he was caught on a section of the M62 where the speed limit was reduced to 40mph, reports the Manchester Evening News.

The politician was caught driving at 78mph in the section.

He told traffic officers he had become distracted when he realised the junction where he usually leaves the motorway was closed.

And he added that he had no idea the “smart motorway” had reduced the speed limit to 40mph when he made his way home from the city centre to his home in Golborne.

Burnham acknowledged he was “going too fast.”

He told the MEN: “On the night in question, I was travelling home on the M62 westbound in normal motorway conditions intending to come off at junction 10 for the M6.

“When I got close to the junction, it became clear it had recently been closed and I had to reroute quickly back to the main motorway. I was not aware of any variable speed limit in place on the smart motorway system at the time and only found out about it when the letter arrived in the post.

He added that if he had been aware of the speed limit “I would not have been travelling at that speed. That said, I acknowledge, that at 78mph, I was going too fast and accept the court’s decision.”

Court records seen by the publication show the case was dealt with by magistrates at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court on March 14.

He was fined £1,353 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £541.

He was also ordered to pay court costs of £90 and his driving licence was endorsed with six penalty points.

The particulars of the case were that the 53-year-old was at the wheel of a Vauxhall Insignia between junctions 11 and 12 at the time of the single speeding offence.