Andy Burnham fined and given six penalty points for speeding on M62

Andy Burnham has been ordered to pay nearly £2,000 in fines, charges and costs and given six penalty points for speeding on the M62.

The Greater Manchester mayor, who was elected in 2017 before being re-elected for a second term in May 2021, admitted driving at 78mph on a section of motorway where the limit had been reduced to 40mph.

He said he became distracted when he realised the junction at which he usually exited the motorway had been closed and he was unaware that the smart motorway in operation had reduced the limit to 40mph as he made his way home to Golborne in Wigan in July 2022.

He said: “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 on to the main motorway.”

Burnham said was “not aware of any variable speed limit in place on the smart motorway at the time” and only found out about it when the letter notifying him arrived in the post.

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

The Manchester Evening News reported that Burnham’s case was dealt with at Manchester and Salford magistrates court on 14 March. The court fined him £1,353 and ordered him to pay a victim surcharge of £541. He was also told to pay £90 court costs, bringing the total penalty to £1,984.

Burnham, 53, admitted a single speeding offence. The particulars of the charge say he was at the wheel of a five-door Vauxhall Insignia on the westbound carriageway of the M62 between junctions 11 and 12 travelling at 78mph at a time when a temporary 40mph speed limit was in force.