British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was fined on Friday for failing to wear a seat belt the day before while shooting video in the back of a car.
In this video posted on his Instagram account, but which has since been removed, the head of the Conservative government enthusiastically discusses his policy of territorial rebalancing, sitting in the back of a car without wearing his seatbelt, during a moving to Lancashire, in the north of England.
“Error in judgement”
Quickly, criticism multiplied on social networks and Rishi Sunak recognized Thursday evening “an error of judgment”. Lancashire Police announced the punishment in a tweet on Friday: “After a video emerged on social media showing an individual not wearing his seatbelt while being a passenger in a moving car in Lancashire , we have today issued a conditional fixed penalty offer to a 42-year-old man from London”.
The Prime Minister “fully acknowledges that this was a mistake and has apologized. He will of course comply with the fine set, ”was quick to react a Downing Street spokesperson.
Not the first
According to the BBC, the fine for not wearing a seatbelt as a passenger in a car amounts to 100 pounds sterling (114.2 euros) and can go up to 500 pounds sterling (571 euros) if the case goes to court.
This is not the first time that Rishi Sunak has been fined. When he was Boris Johnson’s finance minister, he was fined in the so-called “Partygate” scandal, for having been present at a rally for the Prime Minister’s birthday, in violation of anti-Covid rules.