Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is convicted of speeding
The Archbishop of Canterbury has been convicted of speeding just days after presiding over the coronation of King Charles III.
Justin Welby, 67, received three demerits yesterday and had to pay a £510 bill after being photographed by a speed camera on October 2 last year.
The religious leader was driving his Volkswagen Golf along the Albert Embankment in central London when the offense occurred.
He was on his way to his official residence at Lambeth Palace when he was caught speeding 40 km/h in a 20 km/h zone. Evening Standard.
The conviction came on the same day he made another attempt to crack down on the government’s illegal immigration bill in a rare intervention in the House of Lords.
The archbishop, who crowned Charles III on Saturday, was given three demerits and had to pay a £510 bill after being photographed by a speed camera on October 2 last year.
The religious leader was driving his Volkswagen Golf along the Albert Embankment in central London when the offense occurred
According to court documents, Mr Welby admitted to driving when contacted by the Metropolitan Police.
In a statement to the court, Police Officer Andrew Chapman said: ‘At 11.05am on 02/10/2022 a motor vehicle activated a speed camera on the A3036 Albert Embankment.
“The speed recorded with RedSpeed SpeedCurb was 25 miles per hour.”
Transport for London (TfL) lowered the speed limit in the area to 20 mph some three years ago.
Mr Welby avoided trial by pleading guilty online and being prosecuted through the Single Justice Procedure.
It meant that the Lavender Hill magistrates’ court could hear the case in a closed hearing solely on the basis of written evidence.
Mr Welby was fined £300 for speeding and ordered to pay £90 additional costs, as well as a £120 casualty fee.
Lambeth Palace said Mr Welby admitted the offense but was unaware it would be dealt with in court.
It claimed he had tried three times before to pay the fine, but was hampered by “clerical errors.”
A spokesman said: ‘The archbishop knows about it but was not informed that it had gone to court.
“He tried three times to solve this and pay the fine.
“He has all the papers to prove he tried to pay. Administrative errors seem to cause problems.’
His conviction came on the same day he made another attempt to crack down on the government’s immigration policy.
Justin Welby awaits the coronation of Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey
The Archbishop of Canterbury has been convicted of speeding – just days after presiding over King Charles’ coronation
Mr Welby used a rare speech in the House of Lords to attack the Illegal Immigration Bill, which would make it easier to deport people arriving on British shores.
He told the Senate that the law “does not correspond to our history, our moral responsibility and our political and international interests,” and said he would personally introduce an amendment.
Ahead of the legislation’s return to the red benches, Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Justice Minister Alex Chalk today urged colleagues not to stand in the way of the ‘will of the British people’ by migration policy of the British government.
The archbishop, who crowned Charles III on Saturday, told the chamber a new law was needed to stop the boats and end the role of “bad” traffickers.
But he added: “We need a law to reform migration. We need a bill to stop the boats. We need a bill to destroy the evil tribe of traffickers. The tragedy is that without much change, this isn’t that Bill.”
The intervention was his second major rebuke of the government’s treatment of migrants and asylum seekers.
The Archbishop, in a speech to the Lords last year, warned against ‘damaging rhetoric’ that treats those arriving in the UK as ‘invaders’.
He has previously called for a better system based on “compassion, justice and cooperation across borders.”