UK Prime Minister Fined For Not Wearing A Seatbelt In An Instagram Video

21/01/2023

The royal family members of the British monarch are required to follow an extensive list of rules and protocols. But in return, they enjoy a number of royal perks.

Among others, they're exempt from things like taxes and jury duty, and that they cannot be arrested.

In other words, King Charles III is effectively exempt from the law, and in fact, allowed to break any law.

He also enjoys sovereign immunity, meaning he can't be prosecuted under a civil or criminal investigation.

Those benefits, do not apply to any other British citizen, even its Prime Minister.

Just like royal family members, UK's Prime Minister are always chauffeured around and escorted by the police while completing their duties.

They are also not obliged to follow traffic lights and traffic signs, and can go as fast, or as slow as they want.

However, unlike the monarchs, UK's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak must obey the other law, which applies to anyone inside a moving vehicle.

Whereas, the monarchs on duty can be exempted from wearing seatbelts, the Prime Minister must still obey that law, just like everyone else.

And in this case, Sunak was found driven in his prime ministerial car, a Range Rover Sentinel, in a video on Instagram, without buckling up.

At that time, he posted a video of himself promoting the government’s new funding policy.

In the since-deleted clip, filmed in Lancashire, Sunak seemingly broke the law that has been in place since 1983.

According to the law, passengers caught failing to wear a seatbelt can be issued a fine of £100, and if the case goes to court, the fine can increase to £500.

Lancashire Police have since issued a £100 fixed penalty fine to the 42-year-old Tory leader, who has accepted to pay it.

"The prime minister fully accepts this was a mistake and has apologized," Sunak’s office said.

"He will of course comply with the fixed penalty."

"You will be aware that a video has been circulating on social media showing an individual failing to wear a seatbelt while a passenger in a moving car in Lancashire," Lancashire Police said.

"After looking into this matter, we have today issued a 42-year-old man from London with a conditional offer of fixed penalty."

This, is the second time Sunak has been handed a fine for breaking the law while in government.

The previous one, was when he breached COVID-19 lockdown rules when he attended a birthday party. Sunak was fined by London’s Metropolitan Police for violating social distancing rule which was in place at the time.

Rishi Sunak has also personally apologized for making an "error of judgment" while recording his message for Instagram during his visit to northwest England.

It's worth noting, that Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, are worth an estimated £730 million.

Akshata is a tech heiress, whose father, N. R. Narayana Murthy, founded the Indian IT company Infosys.

The combined net worth of Sunak and his wife is roughly twice that of King Charles III’s estimated £370 million personal fortune.

Sunak made history when he became UK's first leader of color and its youngest in recent centuries, taking office aged just 42.