Hannah Bentley
Nottingham’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Caroline Henry, has been given a six month driving ban after being caught speeding. Impact’s Hannah Bentley reports.
Caroline Henry, the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner, appeared in court on the 18th of July after being caught speeding five times in the space of 12 weeks. She has paid a total of £2,510 in speeding fines and acquired 15 penalty points on her driving licence, as well as paying prosecution costs. The district judge, Leo Pyle, has banned Henry from driving for 6 months.
Some have called for her resignation
One of the speeding tickets was given after she drove 38 mph in a 30 mph zone near Burford Primary School and two other offences occurred over two consecutive days, also in 30 mph zones.
Some have called for her resignation, noting the hypocrisy of the situation. In Henry’s Make Notts Safe Plan she says she is “committed to prioritising the issues that we know are causing the greatest harm and concern to our communities” and includes speeding in this list of issues.
Labour MP for Nottingham South, Lilian Greenwood, took to Twitter to share her outrage at the situation writing: “The public deserve better- it’s untenable for her to continue in her role.”
It’s outrageous that Nottinghamshire’s Police & Crime Commissioner – who was elected promising to tackle speeding on our roads – broke the law five times in 12 weeks, including twice near a primary school. The public deserve better – it’s untenable for her to continue in her role https://t.co/Z3vfsrQ4CY
— Lilian Greenwood ? (@LilianGreenwood) July 18, 2022
According to Henry, when she spoke to Nottinghamshire Live, at the time of the speeding incidents her child had recently attempted to take their own life which put immense stress on the Commissioner. They note that prior to these speeding charges the 52-year-old had a clean driving record.
She also claims she was unaware of these charges for some time as the speeding tickets were sent to her flat in London that she shares with her husband, Darren Henry, a Conservative MP for Broxtowe.
Henry seems adamant to stay in her job
Cora-Laine Moynihan, Print Editor for Impact, shared her thoughts on the issue: “Although the circumstances behind her speeding fines are heart-breaking, that does not excuse her breaking the laws she was elected to uphold… In a way this situation echoes the problems with Partygate, different rules for different people.”
The Campus News Editor, Laura Scaife, added “As the Police and Crime Commissioner she should be setting an example not acting as if she’s above the law.”
Henry seems adamant to stay in her job, which she was elected into in May 2021, stating outside the court after she was sentenced that she is “truly sorry” but still remains “committed to serving the people of Nottinghamshire as Police and Crime Commissioner.”
Hannah Bentley
Feature Image courtesy of Amber Kennedy via Flickr. Image Licence found here. No changes made to this image.
In-article image courtesy of @Lilian Greenwood via Twitter.com. No changes were made to this image.
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