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Rishi Sunak
Photo: Aaron Chown / dpa
Rules apply to everyone: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has to pay a fine after driving without a seat belt.
Lancashire Police said it had issued a notice to a 42-year-old man from London after a video circulated on social media of a person in a car without a seat belt.
It is about a social media clip that was distributed directly on Sunak's Instagram channel.
On his journey through Lancashire, the Prime Minister advertises his measures to equalize living conditions in the economically disadvantaged north of England - and can be seen unbuckled in the back seat.
Criticism of the seat beltless ride quickly mounted.
'Prime Minister believes everyone should wear a seatbelt'
Sunak apologized through his spokesman, saying he only removed the seat belt briefly to record the video and accepting that it was a mistake.
"The Prime Minister believes everyone should wear a seat belt."
Breaching the seat belt requirement in the UK can result in a fine of between £100 and £500 (about €570).
After the police decision, a government spokesman immediately announced on Friday evening that Sunak would pay the fine.
He fully admits his mistake.
It is the second time known to the public that Sunak has been asked to pay for an offence: the prime minister was involved in the so-called Partygate scandal during the corona pandemic - at that time still as finance minister under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson - for violating the corona measures been fined.
Sunak defends Tory general secretary in tax affair
Sunak defended the general secretary of his Conservative Party, Nadhim Zahawi, this week after allegations about his tax affairs.
Zahawi has "completely clarified the matter and I have nothing to add to that," he said on Wednesday during the weekly Question Time in the British Parliament.
A government spokesman added that the prime minister has every confidence in Zahawi.
A report in the newspaper "Sun" had previously triggered discussions.
As a result, Zahawi reportedly paid the IRS a seven-figure sum to settle a dispute over his tax affairs.
The former finance minister has been accused of using an offshore company in Gibraltar as part of his role as a shareholder of the polling institute Yougov, which he co-founded.
The 55-year-old conservative has had a steep rise.
The native Iraqi, who came to Great Britain as a refugee at the age of nine, has already held various ministerial posts under ex-Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
dop/dpa